


The Princess's Fire

by zhenyilani



Series: The Secrets We Keep [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Family, Flaming Moon Badgers, Kataang - Freeform, Princess Izumi, Pro-Bending, The Library, Tokka - Freeform, fire bending, maiko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-01 06:47:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 95,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16279688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhenyilani/pseuds/zhenyilani
Summary: Before Princess Izumi can be expected to establish and maintain peace for her nation, she must first find it within herself.And there is artwork at the end of chapter 10!!!OC x Izumi. Feat. Mai, Zuko, Azula.From Chapter 4 on,MusicPlayer81has been my Beta:))))Trigger Warnings are posted at the beginning of the chapters with (EXP) at the end of the title.





	1. The Plea

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of a sequel to **"Out of Sight, Out of Mind"** , and **"Don't Say His Name"**. Also kind of a prequel to the **Lives Forgotten Series** but focused on a side-OC. 
> 
> If you don't want to read those two short one-shots or the last few chapters of of that start of a series, all you need to know is **Masaru** is the son of **Satoru Lee** and **Toph Beifong**. (Satoru is the engineer from **the Rift Comic** who had the cutest crush on **Toph** [I gave him the hella-generic last name of Lee that Masaru inherited]). He is full-brother of **Lin Beifong** , but ran away from home when he was six years old, before Lin was born and doesn't know she exists because he shuts **Zuko** and **Mai** down whenever they bring up anything having to do with his biological family.
> 
>  
> 
> _LMK what you think! All criticism is appreciated. This, if continued will be my first drama/romance piece, I think... ___

"Fire Lord Zuko! Fire Lady Mai! You're both here!" the bright-eyed youth exclaimed running towards the Fire Lord and the Fire Lady wearing his Fire Nation army uniform proudly..

"Of course we are! We haven't seen you in years!" Mai said with a rare smile extending her arms to embrace the young man.

"I've been busy! The company has done so much with the smaller armies and the United Republic! We've built dozens of schools and training centers - AND I helped open a LIBRARY that will rival Wan Shi Tong's! Where's Zumi?"

Zuko turned to Mai. "'Saru, Izumi couldn't be here today. She's been busy,"

"But- she promised she would be here when she returned!" the black-haired, amber-eyed young man said, saddening almost instantly.

"'Saru, she is still a princess of the Fire Nation. She has many duties and obligations to her people that she cannot neglect. Come on. Maybe you will see her at dinner. Besides, you must be tired from your travels." Mai said placing a hand on his shoulder, leading him to the carriage.

'Saru frowned as his surrogate parents lead him to their carriage. Something wasn't right.

* * *

As soon as the door opened he leapt out of the carriage, abandoning his bags and sprinting past the guards.

"'Saru! MASARU, Wait!" Zuko called desperately.

Masaru kicked down the doors to the throne room with a blast of hot red flames.

"Intruder!" a guard yelled as dozens more appeared to stop him.

"He's not an intruder! He was our ward! Leave him! We can handle him!" Zuko yelled at his guards as he and Mai chased the young man through the hall. Mai threw several knives, but Masaru could feel the minuscule amount of heat produced by the particles of air sliding against the blades and ducked pushing them away in flames.

He ran to the resident quarters.

"Zumzu!" He yelled throwing open her door. She turned away from her dressing mirrors with a gasp, surrounded by maids wearing a long, ivory-colored, pearl-beaded dress with wide sleeves and red and gold trim and accent ribbons along the hems of everything.

"Masaru, you shouldn't be in here!" Izumi shrieked covering her exposed neck and clavicle.

"You- you're getting married?" Masaru asked falling to his knees in devastation.

"I can explain!" Izumi said rushing over to him, grabbing onto his hands.

"Princess, who is this man-" a young nobleman presumably from one of the Fire islands asked entering the room from another door.

"LEAVE US NOW!" Izumi yelled at him and her maids. "Masaru, you weren't supposed to see me like this! I was going to tell you at dinner. I-"

"At dinner?" Masaru yelled, offended. "You couldn't put it in a letter? Izumi, I thought we were-!"

"Masaru! You were gone for years. YEARS! I am my father's ONLY child and I'm already twenty. I had to marry someone. Spirits, If the Fire Sages had it their way, I would have been married at sixteen! I have to have children-"

"But I thought we- You said you'd wait for me!"

"That was before-. We could never work, Masaru,"

"But why? We've known each other since we were children, Izumi. I've always loved you and I thought you loved me!"

"I do Masaru! Believe me, I do, but my children have to be Fire Nation, FULL Fire Nation. I love you, but you are still half Earth Kingdom. It is no secret, Masaru. How can it be when your mother invented metalbending? I cannot be with you. My people will question my loyalty to my nation and the last thing I want is for my family to be overthrown. My father has kept peace with the Earth Kingdom and I intend to do the same when the time comes for me to take over, but I cannot keep the peace if the people don't have faith in me. I have to do this. I have to marry Fire Nation. It is the only way."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Masaru!" Izumi replied hugging him. "I really am! But listen to me, Saru, please! You ARE my oldest friend. My best friend! I promise I will continue to love you until the day I die. If you ever need anything, just ask! I WILL make time for you!" Izumi rubbed his cheeks and eyes and hugged him pressing his head into her chest. "I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Izumi," Zuko said warning standing over them. "You know you aren't supposed to be seen together anymore."

"It was my fault, Lord Zuko," Masaru said standing up, removing Izumi's hands from his shoulders. "I should be leaving now."

"Saru, don't go! Where will you sleep tonight?" Izumi asked stopping him.

"I don't know. There's a nice gutter off Fleabottom that smells a bit more like barbecue pork and a bit less like piss than the rest of the city," Masaru replied bitterly.

Izumi squeezed her eyes shut and blinked away tears of frustration. Masaru knew from the past to duck before being on the receiving end of a fit of rage from Izumi.

"Are you HAPPY NOW?!" Izumi yelled at her father blasting blue fire from her mouth and hands unintentionally at him in her rage.

Zuko split the flames and calmly turned to his former ward. "Masaru, I think it would be better if we found other living accommodations for you, not in the palace," he said.

"Where will I go?" Masaru asked. "Realistically. Where can I go?"

"- and if I find out you let him sleep in some alleyway," Izumi began to threaten her father with a shake of her finger.

"Masaru, your father was a co-owner of a very large and powerful company. Money will not be an issue. The company has been self sufficient for just about a decade by now, but you may take a more active role in it if and when you wish," Mai said. "We can continue to provide what help and guidance we can if you will accept it."

"That would be greatly appreciated, Fire Lady Mai," Masaru said addressing her by her formal title rather than Aunt Mai like he used to use growing up. He turned to his ex-girlfriend. "Princess Izumi, will I ever get to see you again?" Masaru asked.

"I hope so," Izumi whispered with tears in her eyes.

* * *

Izumi pulled out a black cloak with a big hood and slipped out of the palace that night and went to the prison.

"Who goes there?" the guard yelled.

"Why don't you come and find out," she replied from under the hood.

The guard shot a blast of red fire at her.

She returned blue.

Only two people in the world had blue fire and one of them was imprisoned there.

"Princess Izumi!" the man fell to his knees.

"I'm going in for a visit and NO ONE is going to know about it," she replied.

The guard gulped nervously and let her pass.

"Aunt Azula," the princess said kneeling before her father's sister.

"Princess," the disgraced member of the royal family grunted.

"I need to ask for your advice. I don't know if they tell you anything in here, but I am to be married,"

"As is expected of you,"

"But I don't love him,"

"Love is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way!" Azula scoffed.

"So I've been told," Izumi replied coolly, unafraid.

"Why are you really here, dear niece?" Azula asked.

"Because I want to learn how to lie. I want my future husband to trust me, so I can leave. So he won't question my intentions and turn my entire nation against me,"

"And why is that, young lady?" Azula asked leaning closer, intrigued.

"Because I love another, but he is half Earth Kingdom and I don't want to be accused of disloyalty,"

"And my dear, you are doing just that, plotting to be disloyal to your own husband before you're even married."

"But I cannot live without him!"

Azula laughed a deranged laugh. "Well you're going to have to, my sweet desperate niece," Azula said slyly.

Izumi turned, spun and blasted the wall with blazing blue fire. The warmth was comforting to Azula.

"I WON'T ACCEPT THAT! I ORDER YOU TO TEACH ME!" Izumi yelled.

Azula chuckled. "You've inherited Zuzu's temper, and my ferocity. How sweet!"

Izumi's face fell. "So you won't teach me?"

"My dear girl!" Azula laughed. "I can teach you anything you want! It will give me something to do, but it won't change anything. It will just be a waste of your time. I've heard of your little boyfriend, Masaru. He is the son of Toph and Satoru, and he's even more honorable than my dear brother. Masaru won't sleep with you once you're married if that's what you wanted. It won't matter how well you can lie and fool your parents, your trainers, your advisors, and your people. Your childhood friend won't allow you to hurt your husband." Azula said leaning against the bars of her cell. "But if you still want to learn, the first step to being a convincing liar is to be in control of everything. Come, meditate me. Control that blue fire in your soul. You may THINK his royal tea-loving cooky-ness has taught you well, but really, he just taught you to the basics. I can teach you the advanced set, my darling niece," Izumi eyed her aunt skeptically but sat down nonetheless and listened very carefully.


	2. Slipping Up

Izumi didn't see the point to the meditation but nonetheless endured the hours her aunt insisted she sit, focusing only on her breathing.

"Your mind is wandering again," Azula said clicking her tongue with disapproval.

"We've been at it for hours a day for three weeks! Teach me something else, please!" the young princess begged.

"No," Azula replied sitting cross legged in her lowly prison cell with her fists closed over her knees, her eyes still closed and her face perfectly expressionless, her body still as stone.

"Ugh!" Izumi screamed, breaking her lotus position to roar blue fire and stretch.

"If you don't want to learn, you can always return to that dreadfully damask palace and sit in the arms of your future husband like a good little princess and leave me to meditate in peace," Azula reminded Izumi with a smirk.

Izumi growled and saw back down again.

* * *

Morning was a dreadfully dull and private affair with only Izumi, her fiancee, Hisoki, and her parents in attendance.

"Princess Izumi, what do you think of the latest protests in the university district?" Hisoki asked his future wife suddenly. "Should we change the new education decree we were originally going to implement starting next week?"

"I'm sorry, what issue was it the students were protesting?" Izumi lifting her eyes to meet her fiancé's away from where they were focused on some nondescript point just beyond her cup of tea.

"They were protesting the use of historical texts authored by the Fire Sages in favor of using texts authored by members of the White Lotus or other multi-national organizations. They are under the impression that the Fire Sages will continue to slant histories to glorify the Fire Nation as they had done during the reigns of Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai. They believe the written works produced by these multi-national organizations will provide more neutral telling of various battles and other events. They further suggest that the purest source of information comes from completely bodies all together neglecting the fact that such documentations may be just as one-sided as those the Fire Sages have been producing for thousands of years," her fiancé explained.

Mai glanced at her daughter, her narrow eyes, narrowing with concern. Izumi seemed distracted more and more lately though Zuko didn't seem to notice the change.

"I think the students are foolish. Their lack in patriotism will cause the nation's influence on the world to fall if they are not careful. We can review and provide... mandatory suggestions for revision for the Fire Sages' next wave of historical publications, but I do not think our decision should be changed. We can make the Sages historical texts include excerpts from foreign primary sources for variety, but I don't think it would be a good idea to fully relinquish control of the writing. Such an action would be the equivalent of sacrificing the minds of the Fire Nation Youth to the White Lotus and other partially or fully foreign-based organizations. Let the students accuse us of censorship. They would not have even known what that term meant if father hadn't opened the floodgates for international travel, tourism, and trade. They should be more grateful for our generosity and mercy. They're all traitors to me, but we've mercy," Izumi answered.

"Hm," Zuko hummed over his tea considering her words carefully. Mai didn't need to hear another word from the girl to make her next move.

"Izumi, help me clear the table please. Breakfast is finished," Mai said standing quickly.

"But-" Zuko began to protest as his Fire Lady/Wife Mai snatched his cup right from under his upper lip.

"We have servant's for this," Izumi argued, defiantly remaining seated.

"Now," Mai snapped leaning towards the young woman. Izumi stood rolling her golden hazel eyes and took hers and her fiancé's cup and plate placing it on the tray with the teapot before following her mother to the kitchens.

"What's the meaning of this, Mother?" Izumi demanded impatiently setting the tray down by the sink.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You've been off lately, Izumi," Mai said with one hand on her hip, leaning on the counter.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Izumi replied defensively, folding her arms..

"You have never tuned out of intellectual discussions before, ESPECIALLY when they pertain to the education sector. Your focus always has been the younger generation since they are the future of our nation, and yet today, you forgot all of the details of the recent University student protests and had to ask Hisoki to recap everything?"

"I'm tired, okay?" Izumi yelled throwing her hands up, turning away. Mai grabbed her daughter's face with one hand and turned it back, her pointer finger pressing into the girl's cheek and her thumb doing the same to the side of the young woman's chin as Mai analyzed her daughter's face. The Princess was wearing face powder, hiding something around her eyes. Circles, shadows maybe?

"How much sleep have you been missing?" Mai asked knowingly.

"Not much! Jeez!" Izumi yelled swatting her mother's hand away, trying to put distance between them.

"Looks like weeks, Zumi. Don't try to run away from this. Talk to me!" Mai insisted.

"I don't want to!" Izumi yelled taking a step towards the door. Just then a knife struck the wall just in front of her, slicing the tip off of a fine, light hair on her nose.

"Izumi," Mai said. "You know I won't tell your father, so speak."

Izumi sighed. Prodigious firebender or not, Izumi would not stand against her mother. Her mother, Fire Lady Mai, who at the age of fifteen, would rather endure the wrath of the notorious, disgraced Fire Nation Princess Azula's lighting than jump into a pipe filled with water and clay in pursuit of the enemy. Her mother was a proud woman, and completely fearless. "Can we go somewhere private where there's no chance we'll be overheard?" Izumi asked.

"Of course," Mai said leading her daughter from the kitchen leaving the dishes from breakfast for the servants to clean up.

* * *

They chose one of the many beautiful courtyards in the royal resident quarters of the palace to speak.

"I miss Masaru," Izumi confessed sitting cross-legged beside her mother on the edge of a small pond where a family of turtle ducks swam towards them, expecting bread or some other food offering.

"So you visited my old friend and asked her to teach you to lie?" Mai asked producing a piece of baguette nicked from the breakfast table and tearing off a piece for Izumi.

"Who told you?" Izumi asked looking up at her mother with betrayal and hurt showing on her face.

"Nobody needed to tell me to know. I am your mother. Your actions are too easy to predict for me."

Izumi relaxed her shoulders and slouched again as she tore off a small piece of the bread for the turtleducks in the pond before them. "I figured the skill could also be useful in politics, especially during negotiations. To have full control over one's emotions..."

"You're already perfectly able to control your emotions in any negotiation or debate. You can bring the earth king to his knees by blinking. You can sway the entire council of Republic City with a letter, and you can get even the stubborn and somewhat crazy old chief of the northern Water Tribe to do your bidding effortlessly. You don't need Azula's help to learn to lie, my sweet."

"Fine. I confess it. I want to be able to see Masaru without anyone suspecting anything,"

"I hate to break it to you, Zumzu, but Toph's spawn is far too honorable to engage in adulterous relations with you,"

"I know. But maybe I could... at least visit... and help him in other ways..."

"How?"

"I - I don't know okay?! I just-!" Izumi sighed with frustration. "You and dad and Aunt Azula are all getting older and I want to learn everything I can from you before—,"

"Izumi, we are forty. None of us are going anywhere for a really long time. YOU have time. You don't have to lose sleep for these secret lessons with Azula. I'll talk to the palace guards. Maybe we can arrange for your lessons to be here, during the day, so you don't end up slipping so badly like you did this morning."

"Thank you, Mum," Izumi said hugging Mai.

The next day, Azula was brought to the palace under cloak and heavy guard. She was brought to the Royal Resident quarters of the Palace and placed directly before the Fire Lady, Mai.

"You will be free to roam this section of the castle." Mai said gazing down upon the disgraced princess with no expression on her face. "If you try any thing that could even be interpreted as treason, we will not hesitate to lock you up again in a cooler, for eternity."

The disgraced princess looked around at the familiar courtyard, spotting the fountain where her brother had once pushed his Fire Lady into the water to save her from a burning apple that the princess lit herself with her rudimentary firebending, and then at that old friend who now called the palace hers.

"Thank you, old friend," Azula said with a smooth smile that used to destroy even the most formidable Fire Nation General's confidence.

"It's Fire Lady Mai to you, but given the circumstances, I will let it slide, for Izumi's sake. The girl admires you greatly and I trust her judgment thus far. Don't give me reason for that to change or I will destroy you for corrupting my daughter. Do you understand," Mai said.

"Perfectly, Fire Lady," Azula said curtseying in her prison garb.

"Good." Mai said. She blinked. "Dinner will be served in the Hall of Crimson Flares. Good day, Azula."

Azula watched as Mai, and all of the royal guards left Azula alone there in the courtyard. Nobody was supposed to know she was allowed out of prison let alone in the palace. With no duties or engagements, Azula was free to do as she pleased within her boundaries of the palace. So, she sat down, crossed her feet, and began meditating.

When she opened her eyes again, her niece was sitting before her mirroring her position, perfectly at peace.


	3. Still Learning

"Hisoki, I wanted to apologize for yesterday morning at breakfast. It was incredibly disrespectful of me to ignore you like that without even realizing," Izumi said walking with her betrothed down the hall of the Fire Lords.

"Izumi, don't apologize. Your mind was simply elsewhere at the time. It doesn't matter where. It is only human. You set standards for yourself that are far too high,"

"I have to. It's what's expected of the princess of the Fire Nation,"

"Yes, when in front of the Nation, but not with me. I'm going to be your husband, Princess Izumi. You can trust me with yourself. Your true self."

Izumi sighed. "Thank you, Hisoki."

* * *

The man Izumi's parents had chosen for her was a kind governer from one of the outer islands of the Fire Nation. He was a good diplomat and a favorable man among those who lived so far from the capital. Politically, it was a perfect match.

Personally, it was still so uncertain. Hisoki and Izumi had been doing everything together for the last year since Hisoki came to the capital. They were trying to get to know the other and trying to become comfortable before their wedding, but the return of Masaru only a month ago had shaken Izumi.

The next morning began with a run around the edge of the Volcano that enclosed the Fire Nation capitol.

"An hour, twenty minutes, and sixty two seconds!" Izumi read aloud on her stop watch.

"It's a new record," Hisoki said finally catching up to her, wheezing.

"Are you alright?" Izumi asked bending down to place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine. I'm just not as... athletic as you, Princess."

"Then we'll have to fix that," Izumi said with a smirk. "I'll race you back to the castle, but this time we will take the roofs, and NOT be seen or heard."

"What?" Hisoki asked in disbelief.

"Bumi was the first to suggest it to Saru and me when we came to visit when we were eleven and he was thirteen."

"Bumi?" Hisoki asked struggling to keep up with Izumi.

"My friend! The Avatar's first-born son!" Izumi replied.

"The Avatar has other children beside that airbender!"

"Of course he does, dum dum. You should meet them someday. They're all so nice, really!" Izumi replied jumping off one roof top doing a double lay up over a road and before continuing her sprint.

"WHAAAAAAAA—- ouf!" Hisoki missed the next roof top and fell on the ground.

"Hisoki!" Izumi slid off the roof top and bent down beside him.

"Ow!" Hisoki winced holding his leg. Izumi touched it sending surges of pain throughout his body. "Ow! Stop!"

"Quit squirming! It's just a dislocated knee. I can put it back into place if you just let me!"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"My first and only girlfriend was a healer; she taught me many things," Izumi explained.

"You had a girlfriend?" Hisoki gasped rolling into his back.

"For three years. Don't be surprised, everybody has a history. You told me I could trust you with me," Izumi reminded him as she pulled up his pant leg and pulled off his boot as he lay panting.

"I just didn't expect that to—"

"She was a good friend and we were young and curious," Izumi said grabbing his shin and thigh bracing his knee against her shin before popping it back into place as he screamed.

"Hey! What's going on out there?!" Some sleepy resident yelled from his window.

"Quick! Hold this!" Izumi said tossing Hisoki's boots into his arms, picking him up like a damsel and firebending them onto the roof again before setting him down to rest.

"Dumb kids!" The old man muttered.

"Can you walk now?" Izumi asked looking down at Hisoki.

"Should I be able to?" Hisoki asked.

"Yes, but slowly," Izumi replied offering him a hand.

* * *

It took a considerably longer amount of time to get back to the palace than originally planned causing Izumi to miss her sparring session with one general from Republic City.

"He'll have other opportunities to fight me, I'm sure." Izumi said to Hisoki as proper healers inspected his knee.

After the couple went to the training room where Hisoki watched Izumi train her non-bending combat skills with her mother. She lifted a new set of knives and practiced with moving targets that were moved on strings, then she did a solid hour of conditioning and then a swordmaster came to work on her swordsmanship with dual swords, longswords, and tiger swords.

She fought ten of his current pupils at once and bested them all quickly.

"You've improved, but you're technique is still weak!" the swordmaster said whacking Izumi with a wooden training sword, making her fall to her knees.

"Again! All of you up!"

Hisoki admired her work ethic and endurance as well as her beauty. She was strong and possessed great patience and restraint.

After all that training was done, Izumi and Hisoki parted ways for the rest of the day. Izumi went to get her aching body massaged and then went for a royal hair washing before her lessons with her aunt Azula.

The former princess was tossing small bits of bread to the turtle ducks in the pond, but none of them were accepting her offering.

"They don't trust you," Izumi said sitting beside her aunt. It was not a question.

"Stupid little beasts!" Azula mumbled handing the remainder of her bread to Izumi.

The current princess tore off a piece and tossed it in and a family of turtle ducks rushed over immediately.

"Ugh," Azula rolled her eyes and walked away.

"So what will our lesson be today?" Izumi asked finishing off the bread, standing, and brushing crumbs from her skirts, following Azula.

"Today you will learn how to bend lightning," Azula said.

"But Aunt Azula, I can already bend lighting,"

"You can generate lightning, dear niece, but can you redirect it?" Azula asked with one hand on her hip and one hand touching her chin.

"Father and great Uncle Iroh have showed me how," Izumi told her.

"Showed you, but have they ever shot lightning at you?"

"Well— no," Izumi said nervously.

"Has anybody ever shot lightning at you?" Azula asked.

"No," Izumi answered affirmatively.

"Great. Then you're in for a treat," Azula said. She turned and without any more warning bent all of her power into a single lightning blast towards the crown princess. Izumi barely had time to prepare her body to take that much power.

It.

Was.

Still.

Coming...

"Azula! Are you insane?!" Izumi heard her father yell as he and Mai ran into the courtyard upon hearing the noise. Azula broke the beam of energy and turned. Izumi pointed two fingers up at the sky and two towards the ground and expelled the lightning from her body before falling on all fours weakly.

"You taught her how to redirect lightning, no?" Azula asked folding her arms and closing her eyes.

"You could have killed her! She's already tired-"

"From what?"

"Training this morning-" Zuko said.

"A real princess, a real warrior knows that she cannot plan her battles around her training. She cannot choose to be attacked when she is at full strength. She must always be ready for the unexpected, the worst case. She may never tire and always remain on her feet!" Azula said blasting blue fire towards Izumi. The Princess jumped back and stumbled, falling onto the walkway at the edge of the courtyard.

"Azula stop!" Zuko yelled. Mai threw her knives and pinned Azula to the tree.

"No!" Izumi yelled running over, standing between her parents and her aunt. "She's right. The practical training will be good for me. I need to be ready for anything!" Izumi said.

"Very well," Zuko sighed not trusting Azula, but trusting his daughter completely. Izumi yanked the knives out of Azula's sleeves and handed them to their mother then walked to the other side of the courtyard. Azula kept shooting lightning at Izumi.

It was bitter work but they all wanted Izumi to grow up strong and unbeatable as she was the ONLY heir to the Fire Nation throne.

Izumi kept shooting the lightning at the sky.

"Send it BACK, little Zuzu! YOU'RE TOO MERCIFUL AND WEAK! JUST like Kiyi!" Azula taunted. Izumi's other aunt Kiyi, Zuko and Azula's younger half sister was a powerful firebender, but she was naive. She trusted too much, and while stationed in Chameleon Bay with the United Forces, was assassinated in her sleep.

 _How DARE she mention Kiyi?!_ Izumi returned Azula's lightning ten fold and caught nearby rooftops on fire as Azula split its trajectory.

"Well done, dear niece. That will be all for today. Now go make tea for all of us," Azula ordered brushing off her skirts.

"You don't have the authority to command me!" Izumi shot back.

"I don't? As I recall you asked me to teach you everything I know. Now it's time you've practiced obedience. You'll need it for when you marry," Azula reminded Izumi.

Izumi roared fire and stormed off to prepare a pot of jasmine tea for her family.

"That was a little low to bring up Kiyi," Mai said to Azula.

"Yeah. And that's the worst crime I've ever committed. Call the constable to haul me back to prison," Azula said waving her hand dismissively and walking over to the turtle duck pond again to try to prove to the small creatures that she's changed since she last tried feeding them.

"Tea's ready," Izumi said returning with a tray and four cups.

"Temperature is ALMOST perfect, dear niece," Azula said feeling the cup.

"Is it too cold?" Izumi asked.

"Too hot by a tenth of a degree," Azula replied taking a sip and closing her eyes to enjoy the near perfect brew.

Izumi sighed. _Almost isn't good enough!_

Mai watched Izumi sit by her aunt. They were so similar in their perfectionist tendencies, yet so different with their attitudes towards life. While Azula only concerned herself with power, Izumi cared more for happiness and peace for herself, and her nation. She would make a good Fire Lord some day. For now, she still had to train.


	4. First Test

The morning began average as ever with a run around the capital, some training, and then some discussion of current events over breakfast. Afernoons were now completely cleared for Izumi to train with Azula with nobody outside of family knowing. Zuko despised the idea, but Mai insisted they continue to trust their daughter. Be too restricting, and she may run away. As their good friend, Toph had done in her youth.

"So what will we be doing this afternoon?" Izumi asked her aunt.

"This afternoon you will prepare for your first examination under my tutelage," Azula replied.

Izumi turned to her aunt curiously while Mai and Zuko watched from the walkway on the edge of the courtyard. Then Izumi turned to her parents, wordlessly asking if they knew about the 'examinations' Azula had planned for her. Zuko watched on with great concern while Mai's expression was unreadable, as always.

"Your first exam will be in the form of a mission, and your first mission as a professional liar, will be set aboard a pirate ship," Azula informed her pupil with the most stoic expression on her face as she and her niece paced back and forth in the courtyard of the resident courtyard of the royal palace.

"Wot?" Izumi asked with a tone of disbelief.

"Expert hagglers are great at selling absolute shit for millions. You need to do research, come up with a story, work on your acting and then sell this painted piece of copper as a royal artifact that you nicked personally from the disgraced princess Azula's former bedroom," Azula said whipping out a replica of the crown of the princess of the Fire Nation, dangling it between her thumb and her index finger before Izumi's eyes before placing it firmly into Izumi's hand.

* * *

"When did she have that made?" Zuko asked Mai quietly so their daughter would not hear.

"She didn't. I did." Mai replied stone-faced.

"Why?" Zuko asked.

"Because, like you, I want what is best for our daughter. Azula may be crazy, but she's one of the few people who could keep up with Zumzu. We've been talking about her training and came up with this exercise to test not just her 'ability to lie' or whatever we're calling it, but her adaptability. As Fire Lord, you have to always be ready and able to deal with the most unexpected shit to be thrown at your face. She should be able to handle it too,"

* * *

"And what's considered a pass in this test?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Getting at least 10,000 bahn for the thing WITHOUT having to use your cunt—" Azula answered.

"Again, WOT?"

"She means don't sleep with anyone for the money." Mai casually translated knowing everyone and everything her daughter had ever been exposed to and knowing that that did not include swear words.

"Besides, you must remain a virgin until you're married," Zuko reminded Izumi.

"I know, it is just—this is ridiculous. How do I even get aboard a pirate ship?" Izumi asked.

"Most crews get drunk at night. Sneak in then. They will wake up the next day and think everyone next to them is friendly. Just blend in then," Azula replied nonchalantly.

"Alright," Izumi said. She took a deep breath and accepted the test.

* * *

The Princess of the Fire Nation was given an assortment of rags to assemble into whatever she thought a pirate might wear then was taken to the docks and dropped off in the night.

 _This is honestly the dumbest thing you've ever made me do, Aunt Azula._ Izumi thought to herself as she stealthily made her way to the ship where she'd execute her assignment on some unsuspecting shopper.

Izumi sneaked onto the target ship easily and found the crew asleep as expected. She knew there was a high chance the pirates would suspect her for being an imposter, and didn't need to have empty pockets to confirm such suspicions if she were searched. So, the princess decided to pilfer a small yet valuable-looking item out of every pocket on each person abord the ship to add to her single item to sell. Once satisfied with her new cache, she lied down in a hammock with some random guy, placing her head at the opposite end of his and closed her eyes, listening, waiting for the sun to rise, and the men to sober up.

* * *

"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by! Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're world-traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?" one of the pirates said to some passerby's on the docks when morning came.

Izumi rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of his sales pitch and stood inside across from jewelry and knives section of the galley as curious shoppers foolishly browsed the contents of the ship.

"Hey Kuon, check this out!" one man said to his friend picking up an item. Izumi pulled out the fake heirloom and threw it at the man's wrist, sticking it to the wooden display case built into the side of the ship.

"Hey! What's the deal, woman?!" the man yelled at Izumi as she bent down to picked up what he dropped when she pinned him.

Izumi smiled and reached across his trapped arms to place the item back on the shelf. Then she took the copper hair piece and yanked it out of the wood, freeing his sleeve.

"Sorry, just enforcing company policy. Customers can't touch ANYTHING, unless buying! We don't treat thieves kindly with these rare and valuable artifacts" she said dangerously.

"What's that blade you carry?" the friend asked looking at the fake heirloom in Izumi's hand.

"Blade?" She looked at it and laughed. "Fool! This is no blade. It's hairpiece. One nicked straight from the royal palace. of the royal family. Knicked it straight from the disgraced princess Azula's room!"

"Psh! I know a load of pigeon scrap when I hear it!" the shopper scoffed.

"No, it's true! It is made of a rare and expensive combination of iron and steel that is plated in a titanium shield before it is coated in gold protecting it from being taken over by a metalbender,"

"Then the thing must be as heavy as it is soft. Lemme see it," the shopper said holding out his hand.

"Nope!" Izumi lifted it out of reach and pressed her free hand out in front of her and engulfed it in a cool red fire at the man. "Customer can't touch it unless they're certain they are buying it," She said with a smirk reveling in her control of her flame. She was the only known firebender in the world with that level of control over the temperature of her fire. After meeting Ran and Sha, Izumi could bend every color of the visible spectrum.

"How much do you want for the hairpiece?" the Customer asked with a nod.

"20,000 golden bahn," Izumi said shooting high.

The customer laughed. "And you won't even let us touch the thing to verify if it's real-"

"It is my most valuable piece for sale, I can't risk it getting stolen. Azula gets no more jewelry made and her beloved niece has different tastes so _**nothing**_ like this will ever be made again," Izumi barked at the customer leaning forward with her narrow eyes boring into his skull.

The shopper growled.

"I'll give you two thousand," the customer offered.

"Twenty thousand," Izumi replied firmly.

"Two point five," the customer offered back.

"Twenty five thousand," Izumi replied staring straight into his eyes wondering if she could bend fire with just her face as the great King Bumi of Omashu could with earth.

"Ten thousand,"

"Thirty thousand."

"I am not sure where you are from, woman, but that is how haggling works in the Fire Nation!" the customer said.

"and I am not just any pirate," Izumi said holding the fake crown.. "Do you want the crown or not?"

"Fifteen thousand,"

"Fifty!"

The shopper roared and lunged at her. She jumped and landed on his head and leapt right off of him and turned to face him again.

"This is your last chance," Izumi said holding the fake crown.

"Fine, twenty thousand bahn,"

"Cough it up and I'll give you the crown," she said holding out her empty hand.

The shopper waved her to follow him off the ship. He pulled a chest out of his carriage that contained the gold.

As soon as she had the chest of gold in her hands, she handed him the crown and blasted lightning at the ground, splintering it to create a cloud of smoke and fled the scene.

The Crown Princess of the Fire Nation ducked into the city sewers traveling by drain all the way back to the palace with the chest of gold in her hands.

* * *

"What is that absolutely putrid smell?" Azula asked with a wave of the hand as she enjoyed afternoon tea with her overly-anxious Fire Lord of a brother, Zuko and a relaxed as always, Fire Lady Mai.

"That, Aunty, is the smell of success," Izumi said with the proudest grin dropping the heavy chest onto the table where her aunt and parents sat, spilling their tea unintentionally. "I sold it for TWENTY thousand bahn. TWICE AS MUCH as as you asked me to!"

Azula cackled madly with glee. "You ripped that guy off good, Zumzu!"

"But you spilled the precious tea, Izumi! How could you do such a terrible thing!" Zuko gasped looking over the steaming puddle on the table with an expression of sheer devastation.

"Father! Relax! It is just a pot of hot leaf juice! We could always make more!" Izumi replied with exasperation.

"JUST HOT LEAF JUICE? HOW COULD A MEMBER OF MY OWN FAMILY SAY SUCH A TERRIBLE THING?" Zuko sobbed uncontrollably.

Izumi frowned at him while Mai put a cold, yet comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Zuko, have you ever noticed just how much you are becoming like Uncle Iroh?," Mai deadpanned looking at Izumi with sympathy.

"He's not becoming our fuddy-duddy uncle. He's simply developing an unnaturally high affinity for fine teas. Besides, Zuzu will forever be a far-to-awkward little turtleduck to be compared to someone so legendary as the infamously honorable and traitorous 'Dragon of the West'," Azula jabbed at Zuko playfully.

Izumi giggled.

Azula watched her dear niece and smiled thinking about just how grateful she was the girl existed. One day, Azula would have to thank dear Zuzu and Mai for making Izumi and for teaching the girl about the world, and letting her travel and experience it before her mind became rigid and her first and sometimes false impressions morphed into dangerous misconceptions as had happened to her. Of course, Azula would sooner throw herself into an active volcano than admit it out loud, but she was of her dear brother, for being everything that Ozai wasn't for his daughter. And she was proud of Izumi, for being the Princess the Fire Nation desperately needed even if it or she didn't know it.

Azula thought back to when she was the crown princess. How different it had been then. Azula never had the freedom Izumi enjoyed. As Princess, she sat by her father's side in war meetings, discussed how to most efficiently burn the world to a crisp and how to best rebuild one Firey Planet from its ashes. She had been forced to fight and win Agni Kais almost daily against the most powerful generals and warlords of the Fire Nation to prove the royal family's prowess and invoke fear in the citizens of their nation. She had been taught by her father that fear was the only way to rule and she believed him. She was taught to hate and now, she was beginning to slowly change as she watched Izumi learning and growing so nicely.


	5. Republic City

_Dearest Zumzu,_

_Where are you? Probending starts in a week and you're still not in the city! Has your royal adulthood caused you to forget all about your friends already? Just kidding! I know you've been awfully busy, with getting married and everything! Congratulations Zumizu, I'm sure Governor Hisoki Ibonara is lovely. If he isn't, well, just send a hawk and Bumi says he'll be there in a jiffy to tear him apart with his bare hands. And don't worry about the mess. If it is an Issue, I can come too and bend his blood back into whatever's left of his body, freeze it, and -ship it back to his parents in pieces-[-strike through] BURY IT IN A PLACE WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE- Lin._

_We love you Zumju and hope all is well in that volcano of yours._

_Love,_

_Kya, Lin, Tenzin_

_AND BUMI_

* * *

Izumi smiled. "Please Dad, can I go? It's only five weeks and after everything here, I'll NEVER have that anonymity again!" Izumi begged her father.

"Izumi, life is not a game!" Zuko said sternly.

"But Dad!" Izumi begged.

"She has a point," Mai interrupted. Once the new portrait of the Fire Family with Hisoki is shippe out, everyone will know her face. Then she will become busy with child and may never get to play the game she created ever again. I think she should be allowed enjoy these last few weeks freedom and youth while she still has the anonymity," Mai added.

Zuko thought for a good couple of minutes while his wife and daughter waited in silence mirroring each other in their expressions. "Alright," Zuko relented finally.

"Yes! Thank you, Father! Thank you, Mother! I love you both, thank you!" Izumi said crushing them simultaneously in a bone-breaking hug.

"Before you go, though, we have a word of caution for you. It's about your ring; an image of it has already been published in the papers since the official engagement, so it is an identifier," Zuko informed his daughter.

"Oh." she said sadly turning it on her finger.

"You must still have it with you at all times, but hide it when in public and don't lose it,"

"Yes, Father," Izumi said obediently.

"Be safe, and have fun, dear Zumi. I love you," Zuko said embracing his only child.

"I love you too," Izumi replied.

* * *

The Princess changed into her casual clothes and let down her hair and swapped out her crown for a smaller flame hairpiece and ran to her transport.

"Iliana!" She hugged her maid. "Kei-Lo!" She hugged her mother's long-time best friend.

"Ready to go kick ass with your Republic City friends?" Kei-Lo asked with a good-natured laugh.

"You bet!" Izumi said climbing onto the airship.

* * *

"YOU CAME!" Kya, Bumi, Lin, And Tenzin yelled running over to the princess.

"I KNEW that you would!" Lin said folding her arms with a little smirk.

"Let's see it!" Kya yelled grabbing Izumi's left hand.

"WOW!" Suyin yelled launching herself off the ground landing on Izumi's shoulders. "IT IS EVEN SHINIER THAN THE PHOTO IN THE PAPERS!"

"Well no duh!" Lin scoffed. "The papers are printed in black white and grey and this thing is made of pure gold and rubies with amber and maple accenting!"

"Lin! Be nice to your sister!" Izumi scolded the fourteen year old Lin.

"Why? She's not nice to me," Lin huffed folding her arms and scowling.

Suyin stuck her tongue out at Lin who stuck hers out right back.

"It's good to have you back, Sis!" Bumi said pulling Izumi into a rather awkward and giant side hug.

"Touch me again, and I'll give you a scar to match my dear father," Izumi threatened.

Bumi gasped. "It would be such an hONoR to be marked in such a way by the great and noble Fire Princess Izumi!" Bumi exclaimed moving towards the princess with the intention of enveloping her in a massive bear hug..

Izumi raised her palm to Bumi's face and with one firm push, shoved him into the dirt. Suyin, Lin, Kya and Bumi all laughed while Tenzin looked on with concerned.

"Oh come on, Tenz! You know I would never really hurt your brother, even if he is an idiot who deserves it!" Izumi laughed. "My father would kill me!"

Tenzin still scowled.

"So we're pro-bending this season?" Lin asked, excitedly changing the subject to something she found a little more interesting.

"Yes! I am guaranteed five weeks here, so let's make it to the final!"

"Make it? ZUMZU WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SUPER HIGH STANDARDS? WE GOTTA WIN IT!" Lin yelled shaking Izumi.

"Yes, you currently hyperactive badgermole. We will win it!" Izumi said just going with it.

Kei-Lo and Iliana laughed as they watched the princess enjoy her friends.

* * *

Izumi ran off into town with Kya and Lin to train with Toph and some officers in the police for their pro-bending match at the end of the week.

After training and bathing, they headed over to Ding's Dumplings for Lin's favorite after-training snack.

"So you remember Rona, right Zumzu?" Kya asked Izumi.

"Your ex-girlfriend, Rona? The one who walked out on the team just because you two had a falling out?"

"Yeah! Well guess who Lin's mama had to arrest yesterday morning!"

"No!"

"Yes! Apparently she got mixed up with the Terra Triad," Kya shrugged.

"She could have stayed on the team and just not been your girlfriend. I mean, I stayed on the team when WE broke up!" Izumi replied.

"My thoughts exactly!"

"Well maybe some people just aren't good at decision making!" Kya replied.

They laughed.

"So, Lin, how's our favorite little Airhead doing?" Izumi asked.

Lin blushed. "Fine. More than fine, actually! He's getting his mastery tattoos soon."

"Really? Is he terrified?" Izumi asked.

"Yep! I offered to help manufacture more needles with my metalbending so we could stick them ALL in him at and make the 'getting' process faster and make the pain last less time, but he declined my offer," Lin explained.

"I'm not surprised! That would probably hurt a LOT, Linny!" Izumi said laughing nervously.

"I think of it as ripping off a bandage." The young earthbender further explained. "The pain is quick, easy, and over. If you peel at it slowly, you just prolong the suffering. I'd rather get it over with. How about you?"

"Rip it off, Baby!" Izumi said taking a sip of her tea.

"Ahhh... I missed you Zumzu," Kya said wiping her eyes.

"I missed you too!" Izumi said reaching across the table to put a hand on Kya's with a little more tenderness and affection in her eyes than what would probably be socially acceptable.

"There you are!" a voice only familiar only to Izumi exclaimed cheerfully.

The three young women looked up to find a man dressed in rather expensive Fire Nation clothes standing above them wearing an almost royal metal flame piece in the little Fire Nation bun atop his head.

Izumi never wore hair pieces when disguising herself as a commoner in the City..

"Hisoki! What in Ran's name are you doing here, in Republic City?!" Izumi exclaimed, shocked, withdrawing her hand from Kya's quickly, for his sake.

"I wanted to see you! I couldn't bear the thought of going five weeks without you by my side, so I came and got a rom at the Four Elements Hotel for the duration of your stay so we could continue to see each other," Hisoki replied romantically.

Kya snickered at Izumi who looked rather horrified for the briefest instant before schooling her face into something more restrained, while Lin scowled.

"We need to talk!" Lin said grabbing Izumi's wrist rather abruptly, dragging her away from the table knocking their two chairs over.

"You do not grab the pr-" Hisoki began to say before a metal strap was slapped over his mouth.

"Zumzu was OUR FRIEND before you even existed so if I were you, I'd keep my distance," Lin said.

"Come, sit by me Fire Boy while they have a little heart to heart. I could tell you many things about your little lady and how she likes it," Kya said tapping on the table at Lin's empty place.

"Kya! When Lin is through with me, I am going to KILL YOU if you tell him anything of the sort!" Izumi yelled over her shoulder.

"Good Luck, Zumzu! Love you too!" Kya laughed madly.

"Lin- what's the meaning of this-" Izumi asked wrenching her arm out of Lin's grip once they had crossed the restaurant.

"He's your fiancé?" Lin asked shocked.

"Yes, why?"

"I don't like him!" Lin replied firmly.

"What? Why?"

"At first it was just the clothes he was wearing but then when he spoke, he changes. When he said he couldn't bear the thought of five weeks without you there, he was lying! I think he just wants something from you or your family but I couldn't quite pinpoint it."

"You're just being paranoid!" Izumi dismissed turning away to return to the table.

"And if you let him keep hanging around dressed like THAT and calling you Princess, he's going to blow your cover and then we won't be able to compete in pro-bending or ever hang out again," Lin added.

Izumi sighed. Lin was right. "I'll talk to him," Izumi promised.

As soon as Lin and Izumi returned to the table, Izumi announced, "Hisoki, when we finish our meal, Kya will take YOU to go get some new clothes. Then for the duration of our stay in Republic City, you will pretend to be HER fiance."

"What?!" Hisoki gasped.

"That is an imperial order," Izumi declared.

"Why?" Hisoki asked, turning to Kya mortified.

"We live in a city of liars and thieves, several with cameras, pens, parchment, and access to a rather bothersome printing press," Kya replied grinning flirtatiously. "It is the only way to be able to show ourselves on the streets without being stalked relentlessly."

"Forgive me, but why would anyone want to stalk someone so crass and uncultured as you?" Hisoky asked genuinely astonished.

"Hisoki! They're my friends and you have no right to call them that!" Izumi scolded.

"Because I am Kya, second child and only daughter of Avatar Aang of the Southern Air Temple and Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, she is Lin, eldest daughter of Chief Toph Beifong of Republic City's Police, and Heir to the Beifong fortune in Gaoling," Kya answered smoothly, never dropping her smile once.

Hisoki turned to Izumi in shock. Everyone outranks him.

"We have a lot of fun, just the three of us and really would rather NOT have any boys here to mess it all up!" Lin growled.

"Izu-" Hisoki began to protest.

"Just Zumi, here!" Izumi interjected.

Hisoki drew a breath. "-Zumi, please, let me stay, to watch over you. It is not safe-"

"I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. Like you constantly feel the need to remind me yes, I am Princess of the Fire Nation with all of the resources in the world at my disposal leaving me vulnerable for kidnapping and ransom, but I'm also a fighter. I have been trained with dual swords, broadswords, tiger hook swords, throwing knives, chi-blocking, fire and lightning bending and I don't need anyone to watch over me," Izumi said with a sigh of frustration.

Hisoki drew another breath and looked down sadly. "I just— okay. I'll be honest. I wanted to make sure you're not seeing anybody else, like… romantically," Hisoki confessed standing up.

"I assure you, I'm not," Izumi replied taking his hand, touching his skin for the first time since relocating his knee after he fell off of that rooftop and dislocated it.

Lin's brows furrowed and she looked down on the ground with a pout.

Hisoki let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Ran and Sha!" Hisoki exclaimed with relief collapsing in Lin's seat again running his fingers through his hair, letting down his tight top knot and pocketing his golden flame-shaped hair piece to better 'fit-in' with his new company in the city..

"Did he lie again?" Kya whispered to Lin as she climbed into the seat next to the waterbender since Izumi sat next to her fiancé.

"No, Zumzu did… but didn't… it was hard to tell. It is like she's… It is like she's been training, against people like me or something," Lin replied in a barely audible whisper only Kya could hear.


	6. Practice

That evening, Kya and Lin found each other finally alone in the attic of the temple on the Island.

"So you're saying Izumi is seeing someone else other than Hisoki?" Kya asked in a whisper to Lin as they lay on their stomachs looking out the window over Yue Bay.

"I told you! I don't know what I sensed. I just know it wasn't the truth but it wasn't a flat out lie either. She's working on it-" Lin replied with a brusque air of annoyance.

"Working on lying? Why would she need to?!" Kya asked.

"Maybe it's part of her Princess training!" Lin suggested hopefully. "Couldn't it be helpful in negotiations or something?"

"Zumzu doesn't need help in negotiations. She can make even the toughest war lord or prison warden shit his pants by blinking. She's hiding something. I know my ex-girlfriend wouldn't undertake such an impossible thing if she didn't have some plan she was hiding!"

"But I don't understand! She would tell us anything, wouldn't she? She's our best friend!"

"You're right. I am hiding something and I should have told you both." Izumi said appearing in the doorway, making Kya and Lin nearly jump out of their skins. "I just didn't think I needed to because, well, I didn't know Hisoki was coming to the city and that it would be an issue." Izumi walked over to join them on the floor of the attic, laying down between Kya and Lin. "I'm not sure I want to get married. Not to him at least. But the Fire Sages say I must to make heirs for the crown and if they had their way, I would have been married when I was sixteen."

"The Fire Sages can suck my dick, Izumi—" Kya began to say.

"Kya you don't have a—"

"I know, but you know what I mean. You're the princess! Shouldn't you be able to do what you want?" Kya asked.

"Yes, for a time, at least. But I also have a responsibility to my nation and my people. Things are changing and becoming more accepting, but at the present moment the people are still very traditional and want me to marry full Fire Nation."

"And your true love?"

"Is half Earth Kingdom," Izumi confessed.

"But ARE you seeing him romantically now?" Lin asked.

"No, but I want to which is why I asked my Aunt Azula to teach me to lie,"

"AZULA?" Both Kya and Lin gasped.

"She's a lot nicer now. Chilled out... My mother tells me it's because there was a time she wanted children but couldn't ever meet anyone since she was in prison. Well, now she has partial influence on me during training, but that's not the same. It's enough, I guess, to satisfy her maternal needs," Izumi rambled.

"Wait! So you are or are not involved with the half-Earth Kingdom boy?" Lin asked.

"I am not, but I want to be-," Izumi confirmed.

"So will you be?" Kya asked.

"No. Both Mother and Aunt Azula say he's even more honorable than my dear father. He won't let me soil my own reputation by allowing me to engage in any sort of relations with him once I'm married. Still, I remain hopeful," Izumi explained.

"Love is such a complicated and dumb thing-," Lin muttered resting her chin on her fist and her elbow on the floor of the attic.

"Love is fairly straightforward. It's the men that are the issue. You know, Zumzu, if things don't work out between you and Hisoki, you could always come back to me," Kya suggested.

"Kya you KNOW that could never work out," Izumi groaned rolling onto her back.

"A girl can dream, can't she?"

"Ugh!"

* * *

The next day, Hisoki came to them to the training arena. He wore his hair down and a sleeveless crimson tunic with deep burgundy pants and dark leather boots that came up to his knees.

"Zumi, I thought your Fire was blue!" Hisoki said shocked by what he saw, like always.

"I just lower the temperature of my flames. I must to hide my identity," Izumi explained throwing a few more punches.

"Wow! That's... incredible!" Hisoki exclaimed.

"Thanks," Izumi replied, blushing.

"Triangle formation?" Lin asked turning away from her rather beat down dummy.

"Sure."

The three girls fought against each other. It was beautiful to watch them fly through the air and slide across the training arena floor as they tried to knock each other down. They were too good for each other.

Just when Hisoki thought things couldn't get more intense, they were joined by a waterbender.

"Hey sweeties,," a kind, soft, almost melodic voice said entering the gym space.

"Mom!" Kya ran over and hugged her mother.

"Hi Aunt Katara!" Lin waved politely.

"You'll be helping us train today?" Izumi asked wiping her neck with a towel.

"Yep. And sorry Lin. Your mom will be a little late. And Zumi, I got a call from your mother. She and… your Aunt is coming to help us train, if I heard her correctly on the phone."

"What?!" Izumi asked. _But she's not allowed out of the the resident sector of the castle._

"Your aunt?" Hisoki asked. "Azula?"

"It's— complicated," Izumi said turning away nervously.

Katara sat down and pulled out some bindings and began wrapping her wrists and ankles and then took off some of her traveling layers of clothing to give herself more range of motion for the fight to come.

"Hey kiddos! Wait—-" Toph said entering and pausing. "Who's the fireboy?" She asked pointing without looking in Hisoki's direction.

"He's my fiancé," Izumi replied.

"And he followed you to training? Sounds like a controlling creep to me," Toph muttered.

"Toph! Hisoki is a wonderful and polite young man, and a good match for Izumi," Katara berated her friend.

Toph frowned and shed her Chief's uniform in one swift motion, sitting down beside Katara folding her arms with a scowl.

"I'm sure he's fine," Katara whispered to Toph placing a hand on her knee.

"Don't talk about him here," Toph growled turning away.

 _Masaru,_ Izumi remembered sadly. _Masaru's mother knows. Of course she does._ Ever since Saru ran away from home when he was five, Izumi's mother, Mai told Toph everything: when Saru learned to bend fire, when he mastered it. When he learned lightning generation, when he fell in love with Izumi, when she fell in love with him, when he joined the army, and no doubt what happened when he returned.

"It's... a... pleasure, seeing you again, Azula—" Katara said shaking the disgraced princess's hand.

"I appreciate the false courtesy but there really is no need. I know how you really feel about me. You think I'm a monster. But I don't care about what you think. All I care about now is my niece and ensuring that she slaughters ALL of her enemies," Azula said turning her gaze away from the waterbending master to Izumi who slapped her own face with her hand in embarrassment.

" I'm just going to go... get a drink..." Izumi laughed nervously leaving the room.

"What's up with her?" Mai asked, for once not quite sure.

"I'll go with her-" Hisoki said sprinting after her.

"No you won't," Toph said, unmoving as the earth encased Hisoki's legs. "The first thing you should know about your fiancée is that when she flees a situation so awkwardly, which is already an extremely rare occurrence, she is not to be disturbed, do you understand?" Toph asked still not moving, her head hung low as she saw where everyone was with her feet.

"Toph—" Mai walked over, her voice heavy with concern.

"I'm fine!" Toph yelled standing up, pushing past Mai. "Lin, Kya. We will start three on two until Zumzu returns, okay," Toph said

"But Aunt Toph— Azula is scary! Why couldn't uncle Zuko come?" Kya asked getting into her fighting stance a bit nervously. Katara glanced sideways at Azula.

"Forgive my dear brother, he's rather preoccupied with the wedding preparations and debut logistics for his daughter," Azula said jumping up to send a wheel of blue fire towards Kya.

"Wait! Shouldn't we get Hisoki off the ring first?" Lin asked.

"Fine," Toph growled. Sliding her feet, moving the Fire boy by his bindings to the bleachers.

"I'm Ba- oh dear," Izumi said jumping into action struggling to keep her fire red against her aunt.

"Remember your breathing. Control yourself Izumi. Don't EVER let yourself go. CONTROL!" Azula yelled at her niece.

Izumi flew threw the air and traded places with Kya catching Izumi off guard. Kya knocked Azula over sideways with one shot and then back with a third as Izumi blasted Katara back a zone then switched places with Lin to take on Toph.

"Aunt Toph, I'm sorry!" Izumi said.

Just then Lin and Kya were thrown into the back wall and all three grown masters converged on Izumi.

"Don't ever apologize!" Azula growled.

"Especially when it's not your fault!" Toph added looking equally angry. The three women blasted Izumi with their respective elements. She blocked it with a massive amount of red fire and rolled to the side throwing Azula up and back into the wall and then Toph to Zone three and lastly Katara to zone three. She advanced forward alone into the adult territory.

"Oh dear Zumi, always saving us from near knockouts," Lin said to Kya as the two walked over to sit with Hisoki.

Hisoki was chewing his fingers, fearing for his lady.

Izumi jumped and twisted through the air conducting lightning, her feat weaving through water and earth before knocking Toph down (but not out) of the ring and then knocking Katara into the drain. Toph and Izumi were locked in combat for quite a while before it looked like Toph might get the upper hand.

"Is she— crying?" Lin asked Kya as they watched Izumi wipe her eyes between striking Toph and blocking.

"I— It's hard to tell. Maybe it's just sweat getting in her eyes," Kya said.

Toph almost smashed an earthen disk into Izumi's face from mere inches away but Izumi smashes it to dust with a fired fist. Toph grabbed her fist, then her other wrist then put Izumi's arms down and wrapped her arms around the young woman, enveloping her in a hug. Izumi wrapped her arms around the sweaty police chief and buried her face in Toph's breasts.

"I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice."

"I know. I'm not mad at you, know this Zumzu. You're good. You really are! Take a deep breath, sweet girl. You have a good heart. I know it!" Toph said stroking her hair.

"Am I missing something?" Hisoki asked glancing at Toph.

"Hey! No physical contact in pro bending! You all are benders! You need to keep distance," Mai reminded them.

Izumi stepped back and instantly recovered. Toph too retreated from the hug and acted as if nothing happened.

"Mom never hugs me!" Lin muttered crossing her legs and arms angry with jealousy.

"I'll hug you," Kya said yanking Lin by the arm into a clumsy embrace, as the little earthbender tried to squirm away.

"But you hug everybody. It's not that special, then." Lin said walking back into the ring to start again.

"But that doesn't mean I love YOU any less!" Kya yelled with a sigh of exasperation.

* * *

"We need to talk," Mai said to Izumi after the training, while the princess was getting her water. She paused receiving the order then continued. Hisoki watched on confused.

"I'm fine! Will you guys just STOP?" Toph yelled shaking Katara's hand off her shoulder.

"Linny, would you mind having dinner on the island, I'm going to be working late tonight," training cut into the time I had to work on a case today," Toph told her daughter.

"No, I don't mind. You go— figure shit out," Lin said across the room to her mom. "Without me," she muttered sadly as her mom left without even saying goodbye. She watched Kya and Katara hugging, Mai not hugging Izumi but always talking to her, helping her with all of her problems, looking out for her. Even Azula seemed more caring for someone that how Toph treated Lin.

"Thanks for feeding me all of the time, Aunt Katara," Lin sighed.

"You don't have to thank me, dear, that's what family does. We help each other out!" Katara said, embracing the fourteen-year-old earthbender.

"What was that?" Mai asked Izumi in the hallway.

* * *

"What was what?"

"Don't play dumb. That hug. Why were you crying?"

"I felt bad for Aunt Toph. It probably hurt her to know that Saru could never— be with me. And it hurts me too—"

"You need to push him from your mind as a candidate, Izumi. He can remain a friend, without question but you are ENGAGED to Hisoki. You can't keep slipping up like this, you can't keep feeling—"

"At least I have the capacity to feel! You're just a big blah most of the time and I refuse to be the same! I'm sorry? Okay? I've just had a lot on my mind!" Izumi yelled walking away.

Mai sighed.

* * *

"Ugh Guys! Can anyone release my feet?" Hisoki called as the group began to leave the training arena.

"I would but I really don't want to," Lin replied snickering.

"Linny," Katara said in a condescending tone.

"Alright!" Lin sighed releasing Hisoki with a stomp of her foot.

"Well that was the most fun I've had in a while. It brought back rather fond memories of me trying to capture you all," Azula said with a smirk.

"Yeah, fond memories," Katara replied sarcastically. Everyone laughed except Mai, Izumi, and Hisoki who was rather clueless about it all.

Everyone stayed on Air Temple Island, even Hisoki much to Izumi, Kya and Lin's dismay.

"I don't want to know what Bumi is going to do to him," Izumi said to her two best friends, joining them in the Temple attic after her evening shower.

"I vote for killing him," Lin said.

Izumi frowned. "Just because he told one little fib is not grounds to automatically want to kill him. I lied too, remember?"

"But we know you. We don't know this guy. He should be trying to make a good impression but isn't." Lin replied.

"Hmmmm."

"Why did my mom hug you today?" Lin asked.

Izumi sighed with frustration. Lin doesn't know about Masaru and I can't tell her. "It's complicated," Izumi replied.

"You know withholding information is just about as good as lying—" Lin reminded the Princess.

"Well deal with it, because I CAN'T tell you, okay?" Izumi snapped, tears stinging her eyes. I can't tell you that I broke her son's heart, your brother's heart and it broke her to see me!

"Leave her alone for a while, she loves you guys and wants to tell you but can't," Mai said joining them in the attic.

"Hey, uh... Fire Lady Mai-" Lin said nervously, sitting up straight. Mai and Zuko were always so busy that Lin never had much of a chance to get to know them.

"Just Auntie Mai is Fine," Mai replied sitting with them in her long black and burgundy robes, her knifes and darts visible just under her sleeve.

Izumi turned away.

"How long were you sitting there, Auntie Mai," Kya asked.

"Long enough."

"Why did you let Azula out of prison?" Lin asked.

"Because she's training Izumi in a skill I think would come in handy IF she stopped letting her emotions interfere with everything," Mai said casting a glance her daughter's way.

"Lying," Lin said remembering the extremely odd irregularity in Izumi's heart beat when she said she wasn't seeing someone else romantically.

"But why?" Kya asked.

"For Love. One does incredible things for those they love, to protect them. Sometimes those actions are traitorous. I once betrayed Azula, the crown princess, so that your uncle Sokka, and my husband, Zuko, could escape her clutches with some prisoners at the Boiling Rock. I betrayed my nation, but I loved Zuko more than I feared the consequences. I know it sounds silly, because you're so young, but you'll understand someday, when you love someone, it's hard to know which way is right, and how to behave,"

"So you don't love Hisoki,"

"I'm trying to give him a chance, but no, I don't love him, yet," Izumi said. "That's why I wouldn't settle for staying home the last five weeks before my wedding. I don't care about the preparations and let everyone work on it without me. I needed to see some friends before my debut to the world, before I lose the ability to walk in the streets in peasant clothes without a guard, before I have his baby, Izumi sighed rolling onto her back.

Mai placed a loving hand on Izumi's arm.

"Our offer still stands, Izumi," Kya said solemnly.

"I'm not going to let Bumi tear him apart, you bloodbend the extracts back into the body and Lin bury the remains," Izumi said firmly.

Mai laughed.

"See? They love you too and would do the most ridiculous things for you," Mai said softly.

"I love you guys too," izumi said rolling onto her side, hugging them.


	7. Dressing and Wedding

Izumi was kneeling on the floor of her expansive bedroom. Her suitcase was open on a plastic mat on her bed, and her latest trove of treasures from Republic City were strewn about the covers. She pulled out from beneath the mattress a large trunk and opened it. Inside were all of the pro-bending uniforms from previous years, the trophies she had won with the team, some clothes she liked that she had outgrown, some old, dull knives without much sharpening room left in them, and some love letters from Kya sent from one of the poles.

She was only allowed to keep one trunk of keepsakes her entire life, so at the end of every year, when she returned to Republic City, she had to go through all of her

memories and sort out what she still found important.

“Not everybody is fortunate enough to have the capacity to hoard every object from their

life story. As a Princess training to one day

rule this great nation, you too must learn this struggle and practice reevaluating your own priorities,” her mother had explained when they first gave her this one trunk when she was practically still a babe.

“Goodbye dull knives,” she said taking the set from the trunk. “Goodbye, girl clothes, goodbye peasant clothes, I guess,” Izumi said adding to her pile of discards. _I could always raid the servant’s quarters whenever I want to leave the palace,_ she thought mischievously. Then she remembered. Clothes won’t be enough very soon. The world will know her face. She frowned, looked down into her trunk, and sifted through it anew. _There is room for additions_ , she thought, satisfied with her annual cleaning job of her memories.

“Goodbye red belt,” she said folding her red belt and placing it in the trunk to lock away for another year at least. “Goodbye pro-bending,” She said folding her uniform tidily. “Goodbye Flaming Moonbadgers,” she said adding a newspaper clipping of herself, Lin, and Kya standing in front of the stadium, brandishing their fifth trophy. She pulled something blue out of her suitcase, it too destined to for the trunk of memories. “Goodbye water-tribe disguises,” she said placing it on top of her pro-bending uniform. “Goodbye earth kingdom disguises,” She said adding green fabric to the blue. She reached for the last thing from her Republic City luggage. The trophy.

_Why do you want me to keep it? Izumi asked her teammates._

_We thought you could put it on some shelf somewhere in that palace of yours. Surely there’s a hall of fame! Kya said._

_There’s a hall of Fire Lords but that is not exactly the place for an award for playing a game,” Izumi replied with exasperation._

“Goodbye, my creation,” she sighed, cushioning the golden trophy with the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom disguises. She closed the chest, locked it with her lightning and pushed it back under her bed. She would be moving to a new room tonight… with her new husband.

Izumi looked around. Some day she will have a little prince or princess in this very room planning little schemes and locking away little secrets that he or she would laugh at when he or she turned twenty.

“Princess Izumi,” a familiar voice said.

“Iliana,” Izumi said standing, greeting her long-time maid. “Why don’t you call me Zumi anymore?” Izumi asked.

“Today, protocols are changing. If the guests that come see us so- at ease with each other- the sages fear your family will lose the respect of the nobles-”

“For acknowledging that we are equals?” Izumi asked Iliana.

“Yes, Princess,” Iliana replied, bowing low.

Izumi sighed. How she hated the old nobles with their rigid ways. Times were changing, or so she hoped.

* * *

“Come, it is time for your royal hair brushing,” Iliana said beckoning for Izumi to follow.

Royal hair brushing. Izumi had only done it once before when she was sixteen, before her first ‘official’ date with Masaru. It turned out he didn’t care for the new look. Said it made her look like one of the stiff and silent old ladies they made fun of during her father’s general hearings that they secretly watched from the vents above the throne room.

_“You’re no lady, you’re a PRINCESS, Izumi!” Masaru said playfully nudging her in the arm. At least it wasn’t a solid punch like Lin enjoyed giving. “… and someday, you’ll be a LORD,” Masaru added as an afterthought._

_Sixteen-year-old Izumi laughed and pulled out the flame decoration and the hair ribbon and let her dark locks flow freely as they climbed out of the vents and ran through the castle halls, laughing, avoiding his and her personal guards so that they could talk in private._

_“Have you ever been curious…” Izumi had asked eyeing the mound in Masaru’s pants._

_“Princess Izumi! How dare you have such uncouth thoughts!” Masaru scolded._

_“You’re the one who said I am not a lady, I’m a PRINCESS… and will be a LORD! So why can’t I think about whatever I want to think” Izumi snickered with a mischievous grin._

_Masaru beamed. “You’re too smart for your own good, and believe me, I am just as curious about what you also have underneath those robes, but I cannot indulge in such desires, for if anyone knew, your family would be ruined by me.”_

_Izumi sighed and backed down. “I know.”_

_He had no qualms about hugging her though._

_“But a girl can dream, can’t she?” Izumi whispered with the side of her head pressed against Masaru’s clothed chest, echoing the words Kya always said._

_“Yes, she can,” he said, with one hand on the back of her head tucked it into the crook of his neck affectionately and the other wrapped around her slender body. She knew then that she couldn’t marry him. The Fire Sages had told her on her sixteenth birthday. She was supposed to be distancing herself from him, but couldn’t bring herself to even begin._

_“He will be off with the Army in a year! Let me enjoy these last moments, at least!” she had begged them, and after getting her father involved in the matter, they relented._

“You’re smiling, Princess,” Iliana commented while lower-ranking servants brushed Izumi’s hair in the flowing stream of water.

“Is that a crime, this morning?” Izumi asked with her eyes closed, relaxing as she revisited these memories.

“No, Princess. I only meant to bring your awareness to your current state of being,”

“And why is such a thing necessary?”

“It is your future mother-in-law. She holds a rather perplexing belief that you are not supposed to be happy once in your official capacity,”

“I’m surprised. Wouldn’t me happy be a good thing? All things considered, me angry could result in her banishment or execution on a bad day. Does she have any reason for this belief?”

“I’m not sure, Princess, but I would exercise caution in her presence,”

Izumi laughed, another memory coming into play. Caution! Ha!

_“The Grand Secretariat of the Earth Kingdom is a dangerous man, Izumi. People have been going missing and he has the authority to cover up everything!” Masaru warned her when she decided to try on her own to solve a mystery that her father had been trying to crack for months._

_“Don’t worry about me,” Izumi said with a glint of determination splashing over her golden-tangerine eyes._

_“Please! If I were you, I would exercise caution in his presence! He does not take kindly to guests arriving unannounced, and-“_

_“Really, Saru! Just trust me! I’ll be fine! I mean, I’ve survived this long executing my various schemes, haven’t I?” Izumi asked smirking at him. He sighed and followed dutifully, ready to jump into action if need be as she dropped into the grand secretariat’s private office in the Earth Kingdom Embassy in the Fire Nation._

* * *

“Come now, It is time for your hair and gown,” Iliana said leading Izumi to another room after she dried her own hair with her own firebending.

“I’m afraid your mother has issued an order that you are not allowed to do any bending on your wedding day, and she found the darts you tried to conceal in the sleeves of your gown and had them removed upon its most recent inspection for poisons.

“Dammit, Ma!” Izumi cursed to herself. _No bending, no knives?_

“I’m sorry, Princess, but it is tradition that the bride appear before her husband as a lady,”

“But I am not a Lady, I am a Princess… and one day I will be a Lord,” Izumi said echoing Masaru’s words as her maid, Iliana removed her silk bath robes.

“Please place your hands on the mast of the canopy,” Iliana asked Izumi.

“No chest bindings today?” Izumi asked looking down at her exposed breasts.

“It has been decided you will showcase a new fashion at your wedding. A new type of binding, persay,” Iliana said procuring some strange, stringy device from a box.

“Great,” Izumi thought to herself miserably, blowing a hair out of her face.

Two maids situated themselves on either side of her to quickly do up the main part of her hair into some heavy and massive contraption made of pure gold set with rubies, diamonds, amber stones, and other crimson gems while Iliana began her new bindings.

It was a ridiculously heavy structure that ran the entire length of her torso from just below her armpit to well over her hips.

“I can’t fight in this,” she said as soon as Iliana started tightening the contraption from the bottom up.

“I’m sorry, Princess. This is why you will be guarded during the event.”

“I don’t want anybody’s protection,” Izumi replied angrily.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Iliana said sympathizing with the young lady as she pulled the strings to the device at the waist.

“Princess, Izumi!” an unfamiliar voice said as it entered the dressing room.

Izumi turned, her eyes narrow with fury. “This is a closed ward!” she yelled at the intruder.

Iliana tugged the princess back towards her by her bindings.

“That is your mother-in-law!” Iliana whispered hurriedly.

“The one that doesn’t want me to be happy? Great! Was she the one who suggested this new clothing piece?” Izumi asked with her hands on her cinched waist.

“No, I am sorry to say that part was YOUR dear mother, Fire Lady Mai, Princess Izumi,” Iliana whispered back.

“I am Hana, Hisoki’s mother, and I have come to inform you of my expectations for my soon-to-be daughter-in-law,” Hana said walking over with her chin held high and her gaze low to take a look at the young princess.

Izumi glanced at Iliana who gave Izumi a shrug of apology.

“First of all, I hope your servant is not done with your stays, with a waist so wide, you’ll look like a soldier at your wedding. Servant, will you-” Hana began to say.

“My ‘servant’ HAS A NAME!” Izumi yelled already losing patience with this woman. “It’s Iliana.”

“Servant, be sure those corsets are laced properly. And by properly, I mean the Princess shouldn’t be able to speak when she is married,” Hana growled.

“You will do no such thing, Iliana,” Mai said entering just in time. Izumi let out a sigh of relief, regretting it instantly as Iliana took the opportunity to tighten the new garment around Izumi’s rib cage. “Iliana, I’ll take over from here, will you go fetch us some tea? Thank you.”

Seething, Hana turned to Izumi’s mother. “Fire Lady Mai, I don’t know how you stand these servants! They’ve no respect for their superiors!” Hana exclaimed.

“They’ve no respect for you only because they know you are not their superior,” Mai replied bluntly. Hana gasped, as if she had been struck in the face. Mai ignored her reaction, remaining stoic as always. “These servants serve Princess Izumi, not even me,” Mai informed Hana, placing a hand on Iliana’s shoulder before she went, with a bow, to prepare the tea.

“You say they only serve Princess Izumi and yet you command them as if they were yours!” Hana argued.

Once again, Mai did not even glance at Hana after another outburst. “There is a clear difference between a command and a request, Hana. Surely your parents have taught you that,” she commented, her attention remaining on lacing up Izumi’s corset evenly.

“My-” Hana choked and paled and fell silent, turning away angrily.

It took all of Izumi’s self control to refrain from laughing at the belligerent woman. Didn’t she know she didn’t stand a chance against the legendary Fire Lady? Izumi loved her mother dearly for many reasons, one of her favorite being that the Fire Lady never did tolerate anyone’s bullshit and was finally in a place of authority where she could stand up for her beliefs without consequence.

“How are you feeling, Princess Izumi?” Mai asked pausing to let her daughter adjust to the reduced lung capacity.

“Fine, mother,” Izumi replied softly, shocked by the weakness of her own voice.

“Good,” Mai said pulling it even tighter.

Izumi grimaced. _Regretting…. Everything…!_ Izumi thought as she tried to use her now disabled abdominals to fight the pull of the garment. _I am completely… not… fine… in… this… thing!_

“I can feel you flexing, Zumi. You know, all I have to do is wait for you to exhale. You’re wasting precious energy, sweetie,” Mai whispered so only Izumi could hear.

Izumi stopped fighting it and gasped for air and as soon as she exhaled, Mai pulled again.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to go over the conditions for the marriage between the Princess Izumi and my first born son,” Hana said finally.

“The conditions were determined two years ago and were never open for discussion in the first place. You should have understood that when you offered your son to us, what changed? Never mind, don’t answer that, because I’m really not that interested…” Mai said, making some final adjustments.

“If the princess refuses any sexual advances Hisoki makes-” Hana began to say.

“She won’t,” Mai said pulling the laces particularly hard. Izumi tried to turn her head to say something, but Mai clamped her hand to the back of Izumi’s head and turned her facing forward again before she could speak, silently telling her to let Mai handle the exchange. “My daughter is required by the Fire Sages to give birth some time within the next two years. In that she will be compliant, but has NO other obligation to Hisoki,” Mai exclaimed.

Izumi bit her tongue to keep from speaking.

“Now, Hana, I recommend you leave before I become more annoyed with your presence,” Mai said dangerously.

Hana bowed and left the room quickly.

“Mother,” Izumi said quietly.

“Yes, my love?” Mai asked.

“I cannot breathe,” Izumi replied.

“I am sorry, my sweet,” Mai said tying the knot off where it was, kissing her daughter on the head and leading her to a makeup table. “Come, let us fix your eye make-up. I know it hurts, but it is only for a day. I had to go through the same ritual when I married your father,”

“And what ritual is this?”

“Making the bride so miserable that she can’t wait to undress at the end of the long day and be with her new husband,” Mai replied.

“Sounds like conspiracy to me,” Izumi replied skeptically. “Was all this pain worth it?”

“Absolutely, but only because you came out of it,” Mai said, gently touching Izumi’s face. “I know you’re scared, but your children will make everything easier between you and Hisoki. Trust me. You will both want what them to grow up strong and smart and happy. That goal you share will unite you, and allow you to get along more easily,”

“But what if we have differing ideas on how much of everything is ‘enough’? What if he wants us to push harder than I am willing to allow? What if he hurts my children?”

“Then we will intervene, Izumi. You are the princess of the Fire Nation. Hisoki, on the other hand, could be stripped of all authority, and robbed of his lands and titles at the wave of your father’s hand if he actually tries to intentionally hurt you our your babies, but based on our assessment and observations, he shouldn’t be one to pull such a stunt. Don’t worry so much, Izumi.” Mai said, kissing Izumi’s head and then doing the eyeliner for the young bride.

After a moment of silence, Izumi spoke again. “Is ‘Saru coming to the wedding?”

Mai sighed as she moved onto painting a line on the other eye.

“No, I am afraid not. The young man was worried he might catch a glimpse of his estranged mother, if he did,” Mai replied.

“Is Aunt Toph even coming?” Izumi asked.

“No, probably for the same reason as Saru,” Mai replied.

Izumi frowned. “I should have known. Everyone in the four kingdom knows Toph would never abandon her city, even for her children. If Masaru reads the paper, he would probably know too. He’s avoiding me.”

And for once, Mai had no response to her daughter. Yes, the son of Toph and Satoru said the exact thing to her. He couldn’t bear to see the love of his life walk down the aisle into the arms of another man. It tore Mai apart to see her daughter so heartbroken, but life was hard. Nothing worthwhile ever came easy. It was just a shame Izumi would have to learn that so early.

* * *

Once the wedding was in full swing, Izumi and Hisoki were laughing, smiling and holding hands as they greeted guests, Mai felt safe to leave.

“But-” Zuko began to protest, holding onto their hand when she stood and began to walk away.

“I need to check on Saru. He was like a son to us for thirteen years. We raised the boy. We cannot neglect him now. He needs us, and I need to know that he is okay. I’ll be back before the bedding ceremony, don’t worry,” Mai assured her husband.

“Alright, be safe, and remember, I don’t hate you,” Zuko said.

“I don’t hate you too,” Mai replied kissing him on the lips quickly before going away with four imperial guards of her own.

At the sight of the Imperial guards, Masaru’s gatekeepers opened the doors, allowing the royal company to pass without any opposition. Mai found the boy she raised moping in his parlor dressed in his finest robes with the wedding invitation still in his hand, shadows around his eyes, and tracks of dried tears staining his cheeks. .

“Saru, your absence from the royal wedding has been noticed,” Mai said sternly, looking down at the young man.

“The invitation did not state that attendance was mandatory nor was it issued as a direct order from Fire Lord Zuko, milady,” Masaru replied not looking up from the beautiful lettering on the invitation wishing more than anything that his name were on it in place of Hisoki’s.

“Saru,” Mai said sitting down beside him. “You know you’ve always been like a son to Zuko and me,” Mai said about to put an arm around him when he slid away.

“Yes, but Izumi has NEVER been like a sister to me,” Masaru exclaimed standing up with tears streaming freely from his glistening amber eyes. “I know you saw it since we were in nursery! And you let it happen!” He cried, wiping his face like a child. “How could you be so cruel to let it grow? Let us get so close? Let us believe that we could actually become something when you knew the entire time we could never be together because of this twisted, backwards, traditional establishment?” Masaru demanded.

“I wanted you both to be happy,” Mai replied, reaching out to touch his face.

“Happy? You LET her kiss me goodbye when I joined the army. You LET her promise she would wait for me and then you tore us apart while I was on leave, had her start courting some pure-blooded governor from some tiny island in the northern Fire Isles. Why?”

“I wanted you to both enjoy the time you did have together so that you would have something pleasant to remember when you became grown and overwhelmed with responsibility. I didn’t want your childhood to be deprived of a friend.”

“But what of my adulthood? It lasts an average of four times the length of childhood, and will be spent entirely without a friend. What YOU did just made the pain greater when we were torn apart. Was that your intention?”

Mai closed her eyes. “You know it wasn’t Saru. Please, just come to the wedding. She wants you.”

Masaru took a breath and ceased crying. “And I want her, but I love her and am willing to sacrifice the joy of her company for the sake of her reputation, her family, and the good of OUR nation. My presence would only hurt her standing in the eyes of man.”

“And how would your presence affect her reputation?” Mai asked.

“They will accuse her of having an affair, I am sure of it,” Masaru said.

 _An affair that she wants, if I might add,_ Mai thought silently.

“Anyone who has worked in that palace longer than three years knows exactly what we were. We made sure of it when we were together,” Masaru paused. “When we thought nothing could possibly come between us,” he added bitterly.

Mai was intrigued, curious to what exactly her daughter spent all of those afternoons doing running around with the son of Toph and Satoru. She heard tales from the chefs of missing pastries and meats, of paintings on the walls, added mustaches, horns and wings drawn in ash on the tapestries in the hall of the Fire Lords. She heard of chandeliers going missing, long-lasting green fires in the bathrooms on the third floor corridor of the parliament building. She head of vent grates being damaged and going missing. But she also knew that Masaru never touched Izumi inappropriately. She knew her daughter wanted it. There were nights the curious teenage princess would ramble on and on about her fantasies after her father had gone to bed.

_“But Masaru cares too much about me and my reputation. Sometimes, I wish he would just loosen up a little. Be less stubborn, less like the earth from his mother and have more firey passion for me. What do you think, mother?” Izumi asked her mother with a dreamy glaze over her golden tangerine colored eyes._

_“I think you need to accept that Masaru is a good man, and quit pushing. It is not appropriate for a lady to do such a thing,”_

_“But I am not a lady. I am a Princess… and one day, I will be a Lord, but NEVER a lady,” Izumi said, smiling as she looked up at the ceiling._

_Mai sighed and touched her daughter’s soft cheek, thinking back to when things were so easy. Before the girl developed such a love that ran so deep._

“Please tell Princess Izumi that I NEVER want to see her again, for her own sake. She needs Hisoki to like her if she wants her family to continue to reign,” Masaru said.

“Masaru!” Mai jumped to her feet, shocked, not expecting something so definite to come out of the boy’s mouth that day.

“Please return to the ceremony, Fire Lady Mai. In the meantime, I have a company to run,” Masaru said leaving the room, crumpling and tossing the glossy, gold-trimmed wedding invitation in the waste bin by the door as he left the room.

Mai sighed heavily and gazed up at her guards, completely at a loss of words before regaining her composure.

“Will children always remain this stubborn and difficult?” Mai asked one of the older guards that she knew had a family.

“I am afraid so, my lady,” the guard replied solemnly escorting the Fire Lady Back to her carriage.


	8. Gifts and Memories

Back at the wedding, it was time for the gift giving ceremony. A certain tier of wedding guests had the honor of personally presenting the princess and her husband with their gifts. Among them, no wonder, was the Avatar himself.

“Congratulations Governor Hisoki, Princess Izumi. Please accept these gifts for you from my family as well as our good wishes for your marriage and good luck starting a family,” Avatar Aang said handing the two a set of ancient firebending scrolls collected from the ancient Sun Warrior’s civilization.

Katara gave them an assortment of healing salves and herbal tea. “May they come in handy as you raise and train the next generation of your family,” Katara said with a low and polite bow.

“And please accept these from my brother Bumi and forgive him for his absence. He was recently deployed by the United Forces and is unable to make it today-” Kya said, presenting Hisoki with a sword and Izumi with a new set of throwing knives.

“And these are from me,” Kya added quickly handing them each a note before quickly glancing around as for an escape route raising Izumi’s suspicions instantly as she turned the card over. To Izumi, she wrote “have fun”. To Hisoki- “she likes it like a band-aid, quick and easy-”

Hisoki’s jaw dropped and Izumi’s face blanched when she saw his message. Without a single thought, Izumi reached over, snatched the note and burned it to ash before anyone could say or see anything.

“KYA!” Katara yelled, swatting her daughter right then and there over the head as Kya disappeared into the crowd cackling madly. Tenzin watched her go with a furrowed brow and slight concern then for their friend, Izumi.

“Izumi, I thought we told you no bending on your wedding day,” Mai whispered in Izumi’s ear.

“I’m sorry, mother. I had to—” Izumi replied looking down at her now ash covered hand and the stain on her skirt where she had brushed off some of the ash without thinking.

“My gift for you both,” Tenzin said, producing a giant stuffed dragon. “I made it for your children…” Tenzin said awkwardly. “When you have them… they could sleep with it!… so they don’t grow up afraid of dragons, like I did.” Tenzin blushed with embarrassment.

“Thank you, Tenzin! That is so thoughtful!” Izumi said, genuinely accepting the gift, careful to shake the ash off her hand before touching the stuffed animal.

Aang put a proud hand on his younger son’s shoulder and led him away. Sokka came next accompanied by Lin and Suyin.

Sokka gifted them a child-sized sword fit for a young Fire Nation prince. Then Lin stepped forward.

“Should I be concerned? About you too, Lin,” Hisoki asked the elder Beifong knowing her from Republic City. The fourteen year old looked up, unperturbed.

“I am not like Kya,” she assured him. “I don’t find pleasure by causing great discomfort for others. Unless they deserve it,” Lin informed Hisoki, her green eyes glinting. Lin pulled her gift out of a concealed pocket of her dress robes and levitated it with her bending for them to see.

“It’s a music box,” she said flicking open the lid with a finger, not touching it, revealing a pair of metal jointed figures mounted to a mechanism on a track on a platform. She lowered it onto the table. “Turn the key,” Lin ordered, sliding it towards the newly weds.

Izumi analyzed it with great curiosity and admiration, then nodded for Hisoki to wind up the thing.

The two figures on the platform moved, tiny gears ticking in their bodies as the band within the box unwound turning dozens of tiny mechanisms including a cylinder plucking keys.

“It’s doing the dragon dance!” Hisoki exclaimed with glee looking up at the fourteen year old metalbender.

“To the hymn of the last dragons, if you couldn’t tell. I know it’s noisy now and kind of hard to hear,” Lin said glancing over her shoulder at the crowd.

“That’s incredible! AND you made it?” Izumi asked with bright kind eyes.

Lin shrugged. “Uncle Sokka helped design the mechanisms. He is the genius. I just provided the bending since there were just no tools small enough to work on something like this.”

“You’re too humble, Lin. I’ve seen Uncle Sokka’s drawings. Most of this must have been you. Lin, I love it! Thank you!” Izumi exclaimed closing the lid, setting the gift aside.

“MY TURN!” Suyin exclaimed practically throwing her sister out of the way so she could have center stage. Lin snarled as Sokka places both hands on her shoulders to steady her rage.

“I know everyone is SOOOO eager for you to have a little prince but if or when you DO have a princess, I made for her, this!” Suyin said pulling out a lump of gold.

“A nugget?” Hisoki asked, side-eying his wife. Izumi stomped on his foot underground.

“She’s only eight! Be kind!” Izumi hissed.

“It’s just not just finished yet, but it doesn’t take long, for me at least!” Suyin said pulling out her other hand. She tossed a handful of rubies into it like a magician might throw glitter on an illusion and then pulled the metal with one swift motion into a beautiful crown worn just under the hairline across the forehead.

“Woah!” Hisoki and Izumi both gasped as it sparkled and turned slowly through the air with the young girl’s metalbending.

Satisfied, Suyin slid over to Sokka.

“At least MY gift is practical!” Lin muttered to Suyin.

Izumi leaned closer to listen to them, Hisoki following her lead.

“Practical? Yours is just a toy! My gift can be worn EVERY DAY by a little Princess of the Fire Nation!”

“And make said Princess a target for THEFT if RANSOM weren’t enough for being a PRINCESS! And my gift isn’t just a toy! It has a fundamental and ancient firebending form built into its platform so the child grows up watching it, knowing it since it has been, forever ingrained into its brain!” Lin said.

“What is the point? So you could control its mind like the Dai Li?”

“So it could defend itself from idiots like you!” Lin replied through gritted teeth.

“Break it up you two! We’re at a royal wedding! Show a little dignity for Zumzu! And stop calling the not-even-yet-conceived child an IT!” Sokka scolded wrenching the girls apart by their grumpy little heads.

Both girls harrumphed and folded their arms turning away from each other, marching in opposite directions.

“Are the Beifong sisters always like this?” Hisoki asked Izumi quietly.

“Yes, unfortunately. It’s complicated,” Izumi replied.

“I don’t recall seeing much of the little one when we were in Republic City,”

“That’s because she was probably off training to join the Triads.”

“Really? But isn’t she also the chief’s daughter?”

“Yes. Ironic, isn’t it? The little delinquent infuriates Lin,” Izumi chuckled.

“Naturally,” Hisoki replied just as the next guest moved up to present their gifts.

During the reception, Izumi wanted nothing more than to just indulge herself in all of the finest dining she had ever seen.

“Careful love, if you do eat, you may not be able to keep it down wearing those bindings-” Mai whispered to her before going to her seat for the meal.

Izumi looked down at her drastically reduced waist, whimpering slightly as a plate was placed in front of her.

Hisoki noticed her disappointment and quickly deduced the reason. “How about this? I eat only as much as you, and then tonight, we raid the kitchens of the leftovers like commoners or something,” he offered.

Izumi smiled, remembering something.

* * *

_  
Izumi couldn’t have been older than nine and Masaru, probably ten. Izumi was locked in her room for time out or something, but couldn’t remember the reason. She did, however, remember Masaru kicking the grills off the opening of the ventilation shaft and crawling out into her bedroom._

_“They always say they’ve given us the best but they’re lying!” Masaru said, offering her a pastry wrapped in a napkin. She ate it quickly. Oh! Now Izumi remembered. She had gotten angry with her Earth Kingdom Etiquette teacher that morning and chucked her tiny sandwich at the old bat in a tantrum she had. As punishment, the teacher sent her to her room promising no food for the rest of the day._

_“Come on! We’ve spent weeks planning this whole day and can’t let you being under house arrest stop us from accomplishing our aims!” Masaru said offering a hand after Izumi had finished the pastry. Izumi took it without a second of hesitation, pulling the grills back into place and crawling, fallowing Masaru into the vents that ran through the palace. They couldn’t have been older than nine or ten. They made it all the way to the kitchens, Masaru going first to check the coast was clear then kick out the grills over the opening. He always told her, if he were seen, for her to go back to her room. He didn’t mind taking the blame. He always wanted to protect her._

_“See the scones, how perfect they are? And the fruit tarts! And the meats! The finest cuts are ACTUALLY given to the servant’s. Some of the lords say it’s wasted on a less worthy part of the population, but your father and I both disagree. We think it is absolutely necessary to treat the working class as our equals. Allow them nice food, for they too have to remain healthy and provide for their own family’s too. It is only fair, don’t you think?” Masaru asked._

_Izumi nodded._

_“You’re quiet, today aren’t you, Zumzu?” Masaru asked, trying to read her face. “Is everything okay?”_

_She just blinked at him. Oh gosh! She was so awkward then! “Della yelled at me,” she mumbled._

_“Is that all? Oh Zumzu! Don’t listen to them when they get mean. Only listen when they’re teaching. It will all be much easier some day, when you become Fire Lord and you can tell THEM to stick their pinkies up and sit still for hours on end while you dance around them with all the fire in the world in the palms of your hands!” Masaru said, spinning around while creating a ring of red. Izumi laughed._

_“That does sound fun,” She said skipping around him, leaving a trail of light yellow and white flames._

_“Now, what we came for!” Masaru said searching the storage racks while Izumi followed closely behind him, tiptoeing to peer over his shoulder._

_“Saru?”_

_“Hm?”_

_“What are you looking for in the baking racks?” Izumi asked._

_“Your favorites,” Masaru said with his tongue sticking out as he searched with determination._

_“MY favorite?” Izumi asked._

_“I SEE IT!” Masaru yelled, wheeling out a tower of three dozen trays that Izumi didn’t realize were mobile until Masaru sent one tower her way. She slid to the side and watched it roll to a stop then turned back to Masaru who pulled out a tray from the tower behind and presented it to Izumi. “Raspberry cream puffs, future Fire Lord Izumi?” Masaru offered with a bow._

_Izumi giggled. He always called her that on bad days when she needed a reminder that she won’t always have to be the young one obligated to obey._

_“Like great uncle Iroh says, life is like a dark tunnel. You may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will always come to a better place,” Masaru said as they both sat on the floor stuffing their faces with raspberry cream puffs._

_“And then, I told ‘im if ‘e gonna be taking those sacks o’ feed, he gon’ ‘ave to get thru me!” one man said to another as they came down the stairs into the kitchens._

_Izumi and Masaru looked at each other._

_“The vent!” Masaru said taking the tray and placing it back on the tower then rolling the free one back to its place._

_“Saru! Let’s go!” Izumi whispered at the entrance._

_“Go first! I’ll get the grills!” Masaru said lifting her off the ground, putting her on her back, shoving her into the vent on her back._

_“Saru!”_

_“Sh!” he said looking her straight in the eye, covering his lips with one finger._

_“I caught you this time, Masaru!” the baker said grabbing Masaru by the foot, yanking him out of the vent and lifting him off the ground. “Where’s the little Princess?”_

_“I came alone!” Masaru answered quickly always ready to take the blame for his little lady. “Della got mad at Zumzu this morning and locked her in her room!”_

_The Baker didn’t buy it. “Check the vent!” he told his apprentice._

_And lo and behold, Izumi crouched in there, petrified._

_“Come out please, you’re not in trouble. Only him, your Highness,” the apprentice said._

_“Well that’s not very fair is it?” Izumi asked raising an eyebrow at the apprentice._

_“Sir?” the apprentice asked the Chef._

_“I suppose this is one of the times we call her mother.”_

_“We could get the boy to pry her out of the vent,” the apprentice suggested, not wanting to involve the Fire Lady._

_“Nah, he knows the vent system too well. The pair of them will just flee together,” the chef sighed still dangling Masaru by his foot._

_“Oh! Perfect timing,” came Fire Lady Mai’s voice as she descended the steps into the kitchen followed by Izumi’s maid, Iliana._

_“How did you know?” the baker asked dropping Masaru on the floor._

_“Please treat my ward a little more gently,” Mai asked glancing down at the boy before looking back to the chef. “And to answer your question, I have informants,” Mai said, turning to Iliana who bowed her head. “What is the damage this time?”_

_“We haven’t had a chance to assess yet, my lady,” the baker said with his hands folded neatly in front of him._

_Mai turned to the racks of pastries and saw one was just slightly out of place. She bent down and inspected the trays behind it._

_“Raspberry cream puffs. Why am I not surprised? They’re her favorite. Zumi, darling, please come out of the vent before you soil your clothing,” Mai asked._

_Izumi didn’t budge._

_“Iliana also told me how Della told you no more food for the day after you threw your sandwich at her,” Mai added. “I would have sneaked out of my room too, once I got hungry enough. I am not mad at you OR Saru. I understand he was only trying to help you.”_

_Izumi showed her little face at the mouth of the vent and looked up at her mother, her clothes already covered in the dust, dirt, and crumbs from the bakery that ended up in the vents at the end of the day._

_“Just a little more, darling,” Mai said coaxing the girl to safety._

_Izumi crawled out and stood up. Masaru stood next to her._

_“They’re cute together,” the baker commented._

_“They are,” Mai said gazing down at their filthy clothing and their powdered sugar covered faces. Spirits, she loved them both so much. “Why don’t we have dinner together, so you can tell us all about life inside the vents of the palace?”_

_Izumi and Masaru glanced at each other and shrugged and followed Mai to go get bathed and changed._


	9. Coping (EXP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Slightly Traumatizing Bedding Ceremony

The new room was huge. Izumi got to it first with an army of maids to help her get her hair out of whatever that thing was woven to the top of her head. They helped her out of her wedding gown and into a simple, red silky robe.

“No nightgown?” Izumi asked.

“You shouldn’t need it tonight,” Iliana replied hanging up a string of beads.

They ironed Izumi’s hair straight again so that she looked presentable for the night.

“Iliana,” Izumi asked after all of the lower ranking maids left.

“Yes, Princess?”

“What exactly am I supposed to do tonight?” Izumi asked nervously.

Iliana took a deep breath and glanced at the door to make sure no one was there listening.

“You know how children are conceived,”

“The theory but–”

“Just– Hisoki will know what to do. Just listen to him,” Iliana said. “I must go now, Princess. Just… no matter how things may change, never forget who you are.”

“Why would I?” Izumi asked innocently.

Iliana’s lip quivered. _Was she about to cry?_ “Permission to touch you, princess?” Iliana asked.

“You do when you dress me and fix my hair and makeup. Why do you ask now?” Izumi asked curiously.

Iliana pulled Izumi into a bosom filled hug. “It has been a pleasure serving you, Princess!” Iliana cried, bawling onto Izumi’s head.

“You say that as if one of us are going into a battle from which we will never return,” Izumi noted.

Iliana released the princess and looked at her innocent face knowingly. “Things will change,” she said simply before fleeing the room, leaving Izumi to wait for Hisoki. Where was he?

She walked over to the bed and tested its firmness. She walked over to the window and took in the view. Then she walked over to the wardrobe, disappointed by its emptiness. She walked over to the bathroom, satisfied with the soap selection. Then she walked back to the dressing table. She would need to have a bookshelf brought in fully stocked. All of this waiting was awfully boring.

Finally she saw Hisoki.

“So are we going to raid the kitchens like ‘commoners’?” she asked excitedly.

“I’m sorry, we can’t tonight,” Hisoki said sadly.

“Why?” Izumi asked. He stepped aside as the Fire Sages marched in, followed by both of their parents and a couple of guards. Izumi turned to Hisoki with a horror stricken face. “Are they staying?”

“They must witness the consummation of our marriage and ensure that we are trying for an heir,” Hisoki explained looking just as displeased with the situation.

Izumi looked around, her mouth agape. The sages and all of their wrinkly faces were staring back at her. Her father’s gaze was fixed on some nondescript place on the floor, averting his eyes, wanting to spare Izumi some dignity. Mai watched with the same expression she always wore. Hana looked exceedingly unhappy standing next to her husband, a tall, broad, war veteran about a decade older than Zuko and just as scarred.

Izumi was petrified. She thought of Iliana. “Hisoki will know what to do. Just listen to him.”

“Come, now,” Hisoki said slipping his fingers in between hers. She shivered, turning away from their audience and following him silently to their new bed.

He slipped off her robe and inspected his new possession.

* * *

_  
“There’s a chute down this way that I read about in Avatar Aang’s memoir!” Masaru said pointing at the other side of the volcanic lake._

_“We’re supposed to be at the parade!” Izumi said._

_“So? It is not like we’re IN the parade! Nobody will even know that we’re missing. And what one doesn’t know, can’t hurt him!”_

_“How can they not know? Our clothes will be drenched once we come out of the other end of the chute!”_

_“Not if we take them off!”_

_“YOU said you wouldn’t see what I had on underneath because of my stupid reputation!” Izumi glared at him._

_“Just leave your bindings! Girls dress like that all the time at the beach,” Masaru said starting to disrobe and fold his festival clothes neatly on the beach._

_Izumi watched him curiously then too started to disrobe. They both leapt in and began swimming to the other end of the lake. “This is CRAZY!” Izumi shouted with glee._

_“I KNOW!” Masaru replied. “But you CANNOT break protocol. If anyone comes, YOU hide and I cover,” Masaru said._

_“Fine, Mr. Protector,” Izumi rolled her eyes._

_Masaru, impatient as ever used jet propulsion to shoot him across the water towards the chute. Izumi followed. They held onto a rock and watched the water fall through it._

_“What if it is actually just a whirlpool and we die?” Izumi asked._

_“Then I’ll go first. If I make it to the other side, I’ll send sparks up into the sky, Okay?”_

_“Why you?”_

_“Because your life is worth more than mine,”_

_“It isn’t like that!”_

_“Yes it is! You are the PRINCESS!”_

_“Fine,” Izumi grumbled._

_“Wish me luck!” Masaru said diving for the chute. Izumi held onto the rock and dipped her head below the water and watched Masaru disappear into what definitely looked like a chute._

_Then she surfaced and pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at the sky, waiting._

_Then she saw his sparks and dove into the chute. There was air space in the slide beyond the drain. She screamed with glee as she flew down the old magma channel then was shot out over a waterfall and fell twenty feet into more water._

_“What did you think?” Masaru asked._

_“That was… Amazing!” Izumi exclaimed. They did three more runs before drying off and putting on her dress robes again._

_“You don’t get upset when I take off my clothes,” Izumi had commented to Masaru that afternoon._

_“Why would I?”_

_“I don’t know. Della goes insane when my collar isn’t straight, says it shows an indecent amount of neck,” Izumi replied ironing it up with her fingers._

_“I don’t care if you’re clothed or not because it is your body, not mine. And it’s just a body. I mean you as a person are the most wonderful, and unique human being I have ever met, but like– I don’t see any issue with nudity,” Masaru said._

_“Thanks,” Izumi said. “For being so… real with me,” Izumi said._

* * *

Izumi snapped out of her reverie when she felt herself being sat down on the edge of the bed and pushed back. “You have a burn mark on your side,” Hisoki mentioned subconsciously before clasping his hand over his mouth.

“It’s just a graze from when I was sparring Aunt Azula. It was nothing, really,” Izumi replied casually looking up at the headboard, not sure what she was supposed to be feeling or doing if anything. Hisoki glanced at the fire sages, the fire lord, and the fire lady and then to his own parents. Did he hear that correctly? Sparring with Azula? THE Azula? Wasn’t she supposed to still be in prison?

“Is that a bad thing?” Izumi asked sitting up again, noticing the awkward silence and eerie stillness in the room. “It’s just an external scar! It doesn’t affect my fertility, does it?” Izumi inquired staring straight at the oldest, presumably ‘wisest’ looking Fire Sage.

“N-no it sh-shouldn’t, P-p-princess,” the ancient man said.

“Then what is the issue?!” Izumi demanded turning to Hisoki. Out of her peripherals, she saw Zuko hide his face with humiliation and Mai cover a smile.

“This girl is—” Hana couldn’t even find the words.

“We’re not supposed to be commentating. Only watching,” Mai whispered to Hana.

Hana growled.

Izumi suddenly felt self conscious about her burn mark and folded her arms over her body and moved her knees together, wanting to become as small as possible and maybe even disappear.

“Is this really your first time?” Hisoki asked tenderly.

“Of course!” Izumi snarled. “I am a Princess! Not a whore! How dare you even suspect such a thing!” Izumi growled uncovering her chest to push herself almost to standing again in a flash of fury.

“Just making sure,” he said taking her wrists, walking her back to the bed, laying her down again.

Hana exhaled impatiently.

“It’s just that… Kya seemed to imply–”

“Kya is just–like that!” Izumi took a deep breath. “You can’t take her seriously. Not always, at least.” Izumi looked away but Hisoki didn’t seem convinced. “She’s another girl! She couldn’t physically fuck me if she wanted to!” Izumi replied in a matter-of-fact manner.

Some of the fire sages clasped their hands over their mouths. Hana gasped and Hana’s husband’s eyes narrowed. Zuko was reddening and Mai just rolled their eyes at everyone else’s reaction.

“Are you at all afraid?” Hisoki asked.

“No!” Izumi lied. _Should I be?_

Hisoki shrugged and removed his pants while Izumi watched. When she saw him, her heart started racing. Maybe she should have taken up Kya’s offer to fist her. She had poked around herself curiously when she was fourteen and first started bleeding, but she wasn’t sure how he was going to get that inside of her. At that moment, she wanted to flee. She’d rather run into a storm of fire, water, earth, and blades then look at Hisoki again, standing there.

“Good,” he said approaching her. She didn’t know what to think when he touched her, then all at once, he pushed.

She threw her head back, pain surging through her entire body. What? Why? How? She felt tears bead in her eyes, her arms grow week as they supported her upper body. Her breathing quickened.

“Is something wrong, Princess?” Hisoki asked.

“It just– hurts,” Izumi replied trying to endure the pain, remembering all of her lessons on meditation and trying to regain control of her now wild emotions.

“It shouldn’t for long,” Hisoki said beginning to move in and out of her.

Izumi whimpered, her knee buckled against her chest and then across his body and pushed him away. Hisoki turned to the Fire Sages.

“You need to finish this, Hisoki,” the Fire Sages said. He turned to Mai and Zuko. Mai nodded and Zuko looked away.

“I’m sorry,” Izumi said through tears. “I didn’t mean to kick. I just, didn’t–”

“Shhhh….. It is your first time, you’ll get used to it eventually,” he said climbing onto the bed with her this time, pinning her legs down with his shins, and holding both of her thin wrists in one of his hands as he finished what he started.

Izumi tried to think of something else besides the pain of Hisoki’s movements. She tried to think of vacations on ember island, riding on a sky bison with Avatar Aang, pro-bending with Kya and Lin, that one summer Bumi tried to court her only to be beat by his sister. Anything.

There was a yelp followed by a searing pain across Izumi’s face. Izumi’s wrists were warm, but free. She opened her eyes to see Hisoki gone.

“MAD WOMAN! How dare you burn me!” Hisoki yelled rinsing the hand that held her wrists together under the sink. She looked down at her warm hands, shaking.

“I did that?” Izumi asked seeing several layers of his skin begin to blister already and slough off.

“I thought your daughter had control over her bending–” Hana said to Mai.

“She’s in pain. If you were a bender, you’d know how hard it is to control such a thing under extreme stress,” Mai replied diplomatically.

“She is mentally and emotionally weak. She should be happy to be able to fulfil her duty to her nation.”

“She is about to receive permission to roast you alive if you don’t stop talking!” Zuko interjected.

Hana closed her mouth and stepped away from the Fire Lord and Fire Lady.

“Are we going to have any more problems?” the oldest Fire Sage asked Izumi. She looked down at her pelvis. “It’s still not done yet?”

“No, it is not done yet,” the Fire Sage said stepping back, as Hisoki returned with his hand wrapped tightly in a bandage.

He looked at Izumi with disgust. Izumi realized then he had slapped her when she burned his hand subconsciously.

“I’m sorry,” She said looking at his hand. By the damage, she had bypassed red and used the extremely hot blue fire. “It won’t happen again,” she said.

“And if it does?” Hisoki asked.

Izumi looked to her parents for help but they gave none. What they were doing was necessary.

Hisoki sighed. “Just lay back down again so we can get this over with.” he ordered. She did. He climbed onto the bed, but before starting again, pulled the curtains of the four poster bed closed, blocking them from view, and Izumi almost wished he hadn’t. “Bite down on this,” He said pulling over a corner of the blanket.

“Why?”

“So I can give you something to distract you from your pain,” he said.

Iliana said to listen to Hisoki. He knew what he was doing. Or at least he was more experienced than she. She took the bit of blanket in her mouth and laid back down. He pinned her wrists and legs again. This time his free hand, instead of supporting himself, he placed it on her bare stomach. As soon as the skin made contact, he electrocuted her at point blank with a special precision technique that did not leave scars like Azula left on Zuko’s chest. This technique left the muscular system paralyzed temporarily. Izumi couldn’t even scream, let alone move. All she could do was see and feel the pain inside. Her bending, was gone for the time being.

Then she felt it. A surge of hot liquid inside of her. It felt… disgusting. She couldn’t tilt her head or sit up or move anything. He removed the blanket corner from her mouth, and let go of her wrists. He moved away and spread her legs and then threw open the curtains before flopping down beside her with a heavy sigh and one arm draped over his own chest.

“It is done,” he announced.

The eldest of the Fire Sages inspected the white cream oozing from her body while the others filed out of the room. Hana and her husband walked to Hisoki’s side of the bed and congratulated him on officially bedding the princess.

Mai and Zuko came to check on Izumi. She wanted to say something. To scream to cry, but she couldn’t even blink. She just felt a tear slide down the side of her face. She saw her mother touch her forehead and turn to whisper something to Zuko. Zuko touched Izumi’s head, and then her hand. And then both.

He was livid.

Izumi watched as Mai held Zuko’s arms back. She watched his growing fury.

 _Father! Father! He just— he just was doing what was necessary! I understand— we– he had to since I can’t— since I can’t control my bending like this—_ Izumi wanted to say, but neither her lips nor her vocal chords could move. It was a wonder how she was still breathing.

“Is something wrong?” Hana asked innocently.

“If your son ever does this to my daughter ever again,”

“Fuck her?”

“No, use dark lightning,” Zuko said.

“It was necessary, for both of our safety, Fire Lord Zuko. Forgive me,” Hisoki replied.

Zuko didn’t respond.

“Just go, I’ll be in in a bit,” Mai said sending Zuko away. She bent down to plant a kiss on Izumi’s fore head, with her hand behind the girl’s neck.

“Rest, my love. You’ve had a long day, and a lot has changed,” Mai whispered directly into Izumi’s ear before pressing a point on the girl’s neck, under her hair, putting her to sleep.

Mai glowered at Hisoki’s parents.

“Hisoki is her husband and until now, I had no reason to believe he would hurt her, but you two? I haven’t had the opportunity to watch your every move for two years. And Hana, I have heard a little bird tell me that you explicitly stated that your belief is Izumi shouldn’t be happy and because of that, you and your husband are both banned from the palace, effective immediately. My servants have already collected your things,” Mai said to Hana and her husband.

Hana’s husband left willingly, glad the ordeal was over. Hana on the other hand stared at Mai challengingly.

“You will regret this, Fire Lady Mai,”

* * *

Izumi woke before Hisoki. She tried to sit up, but fell back again as the soreness between her legs was nearly unbearable. She saw on the dressing table across the room, someone had finally brought clothing for her. She pulled on a simple crimson dressing gown and a dark robe tying it loosely around her naturally small waist. She ran her fingers through her long black hair and left the room bare feet, not once looking back, not wanting to remain in that place.

“Princess!” Iliana called.

Izumi turned.

“You’re not supposed to ever be unaccompanied anymore!” Iliana gasped.

“Then do join me as I find my mother,” Izumi replied from a distant place in the back of her mind.

Iliana looked at her with grave concern. “She’s in her tea room. She’s been waiting for you actually, but there is no need to rush. She just wanted to check in when you were ready,”

Izumi took a deep breath and pushed the door open to the tea room where her mother sat, the food untouched, looking out the window.

“How are you feeling, Izumi?” Mai asked, offering her daughter the single seat across from her.

“Like I have been torn apart from the inside,” Izumi replied bitterly as she slowly began to sit, before thinking against it. “I won’t use the chair.” Iliana bowed and took it away.

“It hurt that badly?” Mai asked also distant, clearly having been thinking about her daughter for quite a while now.

Izumi nodded. “Mhm,” as she took a sip of the tea. “Mother,”

“Yes, Zumi?”

“Did it hurt this much for you, the first time you and Father…. Did it?” Izumi asked.

Mai drew a breath. “Only for a moment. That first push is always the worst, but then as time passed, it became such a wonderful thing. Your father and I, we never wanted to leave each other’s embrace the next morning. We remained an entanglement of limbs until servant Shoma came to remind your father of his other duty to the nation and took him away.

“That is what Hisoki said would happen– that the pain would go away, but it didn’t for me. Why? Is there something wrong with me? Am I broken?” Izumi asked, her eyes filled with uncertainty and fear.

Mai pitied the girl and hated herself for allowing her child to suffer such. “Izumi, Your father and I love each other very much and have for a very long time. I know you love your country, and I know you would do anything for it, as exemplified last night, but making yourself truly love another somebody is a completely different challenge. I am so sorry, Izumi.”

“So it will always hurt?”

“Unless he can make you truly love him. It will hurt,” Izumi did not respond but merely lifted her cup to her dark lips and drank. She stood perfectly still. There’s a dangerous calm about her, Mai thought as she analyzed her child. Her brows slightly pursed. She was deep in thought about something and Mai had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a good thing.

Izumi lowered her tea cup from her lips, looking out the window at their country. Mai saw her knuckles turn white. Anger.

“Let it out, Zumzu,” Mai said seeing fluid collect in the corners of her daughter’s golden tangerine eyes.

“Why couldn’t YOU have a second child? Why has the fate of our entire family fallen on ME to procreate. Why is it so necessary in the first place? Why am I the only current heir? EXPLAIN THAT, Mother!” Izumi yelled throwing the empty cup into the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

Mai remained calm and collected as she always did. It was a habit more than anything. “Because, Izumi, you were a miracle child.”

“How can you say that? How can you possibly act like you love me when you’ve done nothing but subject me to torture for the past few days, and then force me into a loveless marriage?!” Izumi cried.

“There were complications with your birth, Izumi. The cord that bound us to each other before you were born threatened to strangle you in the womb. If that weren’t enough of a scare, you were breech and still coming. It tore me apart to bring you in this world. It wasn’t a small laceration like you probably got last night. It was a massive tear that caused me to lose two pints of blood and go into shock. The only way the healers could save both of us was if they removed my ability to carry ever again,” Mai confessed. Her face unchanging as Izumi’s contorted in devastation. “I never cared for heirs or spares. I wanted a child. I wanted you, to love and to hold, forever. To teach you everything I know. I wanted to give you a brother or sister. I wanted to give you a friend.”

“If you wanted to give me a friend, and you wanted to see me happy, then why did you take in Masaru only to send him away?! He was my ONLY friend here in the Fire Nation!”

“I wanted to keep him in the castle, Izumi. He was like a son to me. The son I always wanted, but I wanted him to be happy too. Honey, he had to go away, because even though your father and I viewed him as a son, he never saw you as his sister, but his one true love and soulmate. But we all have to prove to our nation that you have its best interests at heart.”

“It is not fair,” Izumi sighed, falling to her knees and resting her head in her mother’s lap.

“I know love, and I am sorry that we had to sacrifice you for the nation. Believe me, I hate it too, but there is no other option to maintain stability. I know it is a bit daunting, the whole marriage thing and dealing with Hisoki, but like I’ve said before it will become much easier when you have the child.

“The sex?”

“Everything,” Mai said tucking her hair behind her ear.

Izumi stayed in Azula’s sector of the palace, where nobody except for the royal family proper were allowed to go, for the rest of the day. She read historical tales and legends and did everything in her power to not see anyone or allow anyone to see her. She was afraid. Finally, once darkness fell, she made her way back to her new bedroom, the entire time, having half the mind to try to return to her old one and barricade the door.

She bathed and brushed her own hair and considered putting it in a braid so that it would be wavy the next day.

“You didn’t run around the capital this morning or attend your firebending training or attend breakfast, lunch, or dinner with your parents,” Hisoki said, reaching over her shoulder to put something on the table. She leaned away from him.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you last evening. I was… probably just as scared of getting burned as you were of… me,” Hisoki said.

“I’m not afraid of duty,” Izumi replied sternly. “And I understand why you did what you did. I was in no state to endure that… type of pain.”

“Of course,” Hisoki replied, eyeing her skeptically. “Is that why you have been avoiding me all day?”

“I’ve been avoiding everybody today; you’re not special,”

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically.

“Look, Hisoki, I have just had a lot on my mind lately!” Izumi said turning on her vanity bench, watching Hisoki change out of his nobleman robes.

“Would you mind sharing? I’ve had a couple of things on mine I’d like to get off as well, actually,” Hisoki asked.

“Hisoki, do you love me?” Izumi asked.

Hisoki sighed. “Princess Izumi, I love the Fire Nation, and I am loyal to your father’s reign, and I admire you greatly for your intelligence, your heart, your strength, your beauty and your love for your nation, but I do not love you… and I assume you could probably say the same about me,” Hisoki said knowingly.

“I’m sorry,” Izumi said, her voice breaking, tears stinging her eyes.

“How many times must I tell you to stop apologizing?” Hisoki asked placing both hands on her shoulders. Izumi visibly tensed under his touch.

“What am I supposed to say?” She asked hopelessly.

“Say nothing at all,” Hisoki replied. “Just accept what is. We don’t need love for each other to serve our nation.” he said extending a hand to her.

“I suppose. It is just… such a sad existence,” Izumi whispered to herself as she accepted and followed him to bed.

“We at least every night until you conceive,” Hisoki told her.

She gulped nervously. “How can the body even hold that much?”

“It doesn’t. Your body has defenses against any seed and every other foreign body. It is like a war zone in there.I must overwhelm the defenses and conquer my way to your egg to get you pregnant.

Izumi grimaced trying to picture what that could possibly mean.

“Are you going to paralyze me tonight?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No,”

“Do you need me to?”

“I hope not,” Izumi confessed.

The second time was not as bad. She was sore and everything still hurt, but it wasn’t quite as excruciating as before. She felt his motions quicken and then the still-disgusting hot liquid shoot up into her body. It was faster this evening. He pulled out and she rolled over, curling up, wanting nothing more than to close her eyes and–

“What are you doing?” She screamed as he pulled her towards him and pressed her front side into the mattress.“You need to conceive. The more seed, the higher the chances. The higher the chances, the sooner it happens and the less you must endure. Just go with it, Izumi. For both of us,” Hisoki reasoned.

Izumi nodded, scared in this position because she couldn’t see what he was doing. The different angle pushed against different places inside of her, and deeper. She tried to push him away at first then remembered his reasoning and held her hands against her chest and cried into the bed sheets while he took her for the second time that night.

* * *

_  
Izumi stood against the bedpost, as Iliana laced her into a corset and Hisoki dressed himself._

_“I don’t understand your mother,” Izumi commented. “She expects me to grow you a child but insists on binding my torso every morning.”_

_“She tells me the bindings will come off once you stop bleeding,” Hisoki replied buttoning up his shirt._

_“Hmph,”_

_“I’m sorry, Princess Izumi. I dislike seeing you in discomfort and would do anything to help if I could–”_

_“Then stand up to her! You’ve outranked her ever since marrying me!” Izumi said._

_“No, I don’t. She’s the Fire Lady,” Hisoki replied._

_“What?” Izumi turned to Iliana who said nothing._

_“Tea, Servant,” Hana ordered entering the room wearing the traditional garbs of the Fire Lady, hairpiece and everything._

_“Yes, My Lady,” Iliana said with a curtsy before leaving._

_“No! You’re not! You’re just some noblewoman from a tiny island! My mother is the Fire Lady!” Izumi said backing away from Hana. “Fire Lady Mai!”_

_Hana walked closer. “The woman who gave birth to you died in a tragic accident, Princess Izumi,” Hana replied walking closer still, backing Izumi into a corner._

_“No! She’s not dead! She wouldn’t be foolish enough to die in an accident!” Izumi yelled lunging up at Hana. Hana slid to the side and laughed as no fire came from Izumi’s fist._

_“What?” Izumi gasped. She tried to bend but nothing happened. “What happened to my bending._

_“We had the Avatar take it away. You were far too troublesome with it and we needed a lady, not a soldier. Now, you are nothing,” Hana whispered. “And you can NEVER be a Fire Lord.”_

_Hana grabbed Izumi, forcibly turning her to face the bed and grabbed hold of the laces of the corset and pulled. The Princess screamed._

* * *

And then woke up, in a cold sweat, panting. She turned and saw saw a man lying in bed next to her. She jumped out, shaking, then remembered, it was just her husband, and that she was married.

_I have to get out!_

She grabbed a plain dark wine colored gown and a black cloak and jumped out of the window of her bedroom. She took a route composed of seldom used halls, paths, and secret tunnels to get out of the palace.

She found the street of Ashbury Road easily and located the gate with the Earthen Fire Company logo.

_Only two guards? Pitiful!_

Izumi sneaked around the back and launched herself over the gate with jet propulsion from her feet, keeping her hood over her head as she ran across the garden up to the edge of the house. She looked up searching for an open window.

_There!_

Izumi launched herself up through the window, landing on the carpeted floor in a dive roll onto her feet. The hallway must have been at least fifteen feet wide. From the outside, Masaru’s place looked like just a normal, rich man’s house. On the inside?

 _Great! This place must be about as big as Azula’s sector of the Palace!_ Izumi thought to herself with frustration.

Just then Izumi heard footsteps coming down the hall. She ducked behind a pillar.

“Yeah! Day shift is always slacking!” one guard said with a tired sigh.

“Tell me about it,” the other agreed. The footsteps stopped.

 _They knew! Fuck!_ Thought Izumi. One must have been an earthbender, and the other, a firebender. She could flee. The open window was right there. Return to the palace, go back to sleep. But how she longed for some sort of familiarity that wasn’t her mother or father. She would have to fight to see him. In a fleeting second, Izumi blasted blue fire down the hall only to have it split by red from one of the guards. Through the blinding light came a pair of rock gloves locking Izumi’s wrists behind her back, then more small stones locked her ankles together and then even more secured her arms to her waist so she couldn’t try to lift them over her head. She fell over onto her already sore hip with a grunt and her hood slipped off.

“Huh?” both guards gasped stepping back, recognizing the Princess instantly from the newspapers that morning containing the new portrait of the Royal family with the addition of Hisoki.

“What is all of this commotion?” a man asked emerging from his office.

“Milord!” the two guards said bowing and stepping back waving to Izumi.

“Saru–” Izumi said with pleading eyes.

“How did this happen?” Masaru asked his guards.

“We believe she came through the window,” the firebending guard said.

“Should we remove the cuffs?” the earthbending guard asked.

“We don’t know her intentions,” the firebending guard announced.

“I know exactly what they are,” Masaru said, glaring at Izumi. She winced. She had never seen his anger directed at her. He turned and went back into his office leaving the door open.

“Saru, wait!” Izumi called sitting up with mild difficulty with her hands still tied behind her back and fixed to her waist.

Masaru picked up the phone and began punching in numbers. Izumi remembered then that Masaru was one of seven people in the world who had Fire Lord Zuko’s direct line.

“No!” Don’t call him!” Izumi begged.

“Hello, Uncle. Forgive me for contacting you at this ungodly hour, but your daughter has been discovered on my premises and needs to be removed before she does something that she will most certainly regret,” Masaru said.

“Saru please!” Izumi begged, tears stinging her eyes.

“Yes, all the guards are okay… They are well trained and were warned something like this may happen over the course of the next few months. Just none of them expected her to come so soon after the wedding…. No she did not kill anybody as far as I can tell… Yes, I understand… thank you, Uncle…. I will see you soon,” Masaru hung up the phone and turned to his two guards.

“Lu, Yen, please escort the princess to the reception room on the ground floor. I will meet you there in a moment after I finish this last form,”

“Yes, Master,”

This is humiliating! Thought Izumi. Being lead away in rock chains. I only wanted to say hello, to say something, to be with someone I know that weren’t my parents or Iliana or Kei-Lo!

Izumi tried to memorize the corridors as she was lead to the reception room, contemplating tripping the escorts and sprinting back to Masaru, but didn’t. Finally, they reached the reception room and they sat her down to wait, adjusting the rock bindings so her hands could rest comfortably in her lap and not put strain on her shoulders.

“Would you mind if we shared a few words, Princess?” Lu asked.

“Not at all,” Izumi replied slouching with her forearms on her knees looking like a mere commoner. “It will past the time at least.”

“When the Master of the house warned us that you might come in the next few weeks, we really didn’t believe him,” Lu began.

“And why is that? Masaru is a good and honest man,” unlike me.

“It is just that… you’re a princess… no, THE PRINCESS, and we didn’t think he was that important to anybody let alone YOU!” Lu said.

“He was my best friend,” Izumi sighed. How could he not be important to me?

“You were never his,” Lu replied.

Izumi looked up at him, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“He wanted to marry you, Princess. Wanted to donate his fortune and properties to the crown. He was willing to nationalize his half of Earthen Fireworks to give you whatever you needed. We heard him lamenting about it a few months ago before he burned the planned dowry the day your engagement was officially announced,”

“Really?” Izumi asked.

“He still cares about you Princess and doesn’t want to see you or your family hurt in any way which is why he has been so distant, which is why he did not speak to you directly today. I am sorry if it hurts, Princess. I just thought you ought to know,” Lu said.

“What gossip are you filling her head with, Lu? I told you to escort her to the reception room. I did not give you permission to talk to her,” Masaru’s voice boomed down the hall as he walked towards them. Both guards stood up at attention and saluted.

“Saru– I’m sorry!” Izumi cried.

Masaru said nothing to her but motioned to the double doors at the end of the room as they swung open. Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai entered, flanked by exactly a dozen palace guards.

"Mother? Father? You BOTH came?” Izumi asked, startled by their entrance.

“Izumi,” Zuko said deeply.

“Father, I can explain– I had a nightmare and needed to–”

“Izumi, I’ve done my best to give you as much freedom as I can within reason that is fit for a Princess of your standing. I’ve tried to allow you to make your own decisions with your friends and how you spend your time, but you are a married woman now. You are not a child whose mistakes can be dismissed with the wave of a hand–”

“Mistakes? Father, please—”

“I don’t ask much of you, Izumi, but this? This cannot be forgiven. You have a duty now to your husband and your people as CROWN Princess of the Fire Nation,”

“I know but,–”

“I thought that by allowing you unchecked freedom in your youth, you would create happy memories and develop a greater appreciation for the little things in life, but instead, that freedom has only made you greedy–”

“What?”

“From now on, you will be guarded twenty-four-seven by Kei-Lo and Ido,”

“But–”

“EVEN while you sleep!” Zuko added.

“Father!” Izumi yelled over him.

‘You have broken my trust, Izumi, and you have failed your Aunt Azula’s training by getting caught,” Zuko said looking down upon his daughter with overwhelming disappointment.

“Father–” Izumi sniffled.

Mai had an idea. “Zuko,” she said quietly, glaring down at her daughter. “Pull back,” she suggested. “Maybe we overestimated Izumi’s capabilities,” Mai said. Izumi whimpered. “Maybe she is just weaker than we expected her to be by this age,” Mai said delivering a severe but necessary blow to her daughter’s ego. Mai knew she would build it back up again, but in the meantime, she needed to be humbled so she would quit sneaking out of the Palace.

Izumi blinked away tears of anger and grief. She never felt so alone. She’d disappointed both parents, and couldn’t be consoled by Masaru since he refused to speak to her. She had nobody.

“Are you the earthbender?” Zuko asked the guard with the green collar.

“Yes, my lord,” Lu said, bowing stiffly.

“Will you please release my daughter? We can take it from here,” Zuko asked politely.

The guard pulled the rocks back to their resting place on his hands.

“Like a trained Dai Li,” Zuko commented.

Lu smiled. “Everyone has a past,” he said, nodding at the Fire Lord.

“And everyone has a future,” Mai added, reaching out a hand to Izumi. The girl looked up at her mother and stood shrugging her mother’s hand off her shoulder like a petulant child, not wanting to touch anybody.

* * *

“Nobody will know about this little escapade, Izumi. Not even Hisoki,” Mai said sternly.

Izumi did not respond, only blinked away tears as she looked out the window of the carriage.

“When you get back to bed, you’ll tell Hisoki you had to go to the bathroom,” Mai ordered.

“I’m not going back to that bed,” Izumi said firmly.

“You will!” Zuko barked.

“Zuko,” Mai checked him again. She gazed into her daughter’s sparkling eyes with a tiny bit of pity. “When we get back to the palace, You go to sleep. I’ll stay up with Izumi and make sure she doesn’t go off running again,” Mai said.

“But my love–” Zuko began to protest.

“She may be the crown princess, and she may be married, but she is still just a baby and will remain one until she has a child of her own.”

Zuko sighed resignedly. “Alright.”

* * *

Once Zuko had gone to bed, Mai took Izumi to a parlor in an isolated part of the castle, dismissing their guard somewhere along the way so they could have a bit privacy, knowing it was something her dear girl had been severely lacking as of late.

Mai laid her daughter down on a couch in the parlor and brought her a blanket, sitting beside her, so the girl could rest her head in her mother’s lap like when she was younger.

“So you had a nightmare?” Mai asked.

At least someone listens! Izumi nodded.

“Would you like to share?”

“You were dead. Died in some accident somewhere and Hana was Fire Lady and she controlled everything! She even commanded the Avatar to take my bending away so that I couldn’t fight her when she tried to force me into a corset for the day!” Izumi sniffled.

Mai gazed into the dark fireplace. “Light it, Izumi,” Mai ordered. Izumi untucked one hand from under the blanket and pointed two fingers at the fireplace and shot a tiny but powerful spark across the room setting it ablaze. “There, bending restored,” Mai said, stroking her daughter’s head. “Now rest, daughter. You are safe from Hana. She has already been banished from the Capital for her treatment of you, and I am never leaving you.” Mai said affectionately before sliding a finger behind Izumi’s neck, blacking her out.

* * *

Hisoki woke up the next morning in a panic. “Zu? Izumi!”

“Sir!” Iliana said rushing in. “Please don’t be alarmed. The Princess merely had a bad dream last night and didn’t want to wake you. She is with her mother now. They’re both sleeping. I can take you to see them,” Iliana offered.

“Thank you, Hisoki followed her quickly, throwing on a robe on the way.

In that distant room, Mai sat with her head leaning back on the rim of the couch and her eyes closed, lost in thought while her daughter slept soundly.

Mai opened her eyes to find Hisoki before her. “Is she okay?” Hisoki asked with genuine concern.

Mai looked down at her girl’s sleeping form and carressed her temple like a mother did to a newborn babe. “She’s just a little shaken. It is to be expected of a young bride,” Mai replied softly.

Hisoki let out a sigh of relief and sat down opposite them.

“I am sorry if I frightened her last night,” Hisoki said.

Mai continued to stroke the girl’s face like a babe. “She is a strong warrior, a brave princess, but she is still just a girl,” Izumi reminded Hisoki.


	10. New Izumi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **OMFG, I was making a excel document to keep track of which characters appeared in which chapter (so I can update all the tags to reflect who appears in each chapter) and realized I literally forgot to post THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS between Chapter 9: "Coping" and Chapter 10: "Raising Hate"**
> 
> **So I am posting the missing ones now. This was supposed to be Chapter 10: _New Izumi_**
> 
> **Next is 11: _Iroh_ , and 12: _The Assassination Attempt._**
> 
> **This is sooooooo embarrassing I guess that is what I get for writing so far ahead and then not posting until I forget what I have already done *cries***

In the grassy courtyard, Izumi sat with her spine slightly arched, her shoulders down and back, neck stretched, ankles crossed and hands folded neatly on the edge of the table. Azula oversaw all of her training. She was the only one with enough patience, and raw power to deal with the incredibly unstable princess.

After a week of avoiding of all human life, Izumi began attending her lessons again. That only lasted a few days before she nearly killed her weapons master when she got frustrated with her broadswords and began firebending with them. Her weapons master was only wearing pants and suffered burns on his back when he tried to run away. She then exploded again during her Earth Kingdom etiquette lessons and threw a teapot at the wall and a small sandwich at her teacher's face. Then during a gown fitting, she burned a set of robes to ash after she tripped on the skirt on her way to change. Every attempt to do anything left the Princess in tears and somebody hurt.

They supervised Hisoki having sex with her then gave him his own room for the night for his own safety.

Only Azula was able to ease Izumi into doing anything.

They began with just meditation two weeks after the wedding. Then from meditation, waterbending forms. No fire, no fighting, just motion. Then they began going to the kitchens, watching the bakers and the chefs, sometimes even helping.

"What is the trick?" Zuko asked Azula, visiting the kitchens to check in on his sister and daughter.

"Just don't talk to her," Azula shushed, watching Izumi rolling out dough. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and brushed her flour dusted palms on her apron. Fetching a dough cutter for pastries, Izumi cut the dough into little triangles and laid them out on a baking tray in perfectly symmetrical rows.

"It's perfect, Princess," the chef said, accepting the tray.

Izumi approached Azula and Zuko.

"May I pass to go to the bathroom?"

"Of course, Niece," Azula replied stepping aside.

Now they were trying to give her her standard lessons again.

"Pour the tea, and if you get it wrong again, you have to do six hundred and eighty hot squats. And if you collapse before you finish, you will have to do a hundred and ninety more," Azula ordered the Princess.

"It is just tea," Izumi replied, staring at the ceramic pot with boredom. "How many ways can there possibly be to pour it?"

"One, but since you haven't been able to pour a single satisfactory cup in the last six weeks, we have to reteach you now."

Izumi's eyes narrowed with annoyance. She picked up the pot with one hand and held the lid with the other pouring Azula's cup.

"Good,"

Then her own.

"She is not focused," Mai called quietly from the balcony above where she and Zuko watched with worry. And then the teacup over flowed.

"Flaming hog monkeys!" Izumi cursed setting the pot down standing up as Azula shook her head.

"Six hundred and eighty, Zumzu. Lets go," Azula ordered.

"I'd rather do this for the rest of my life than pour that STUPID teapot," Izumi muttered, starting the exercise.

"Language, Izumi. A Princess should never use profanity. It shows a lack of intellect."

Izumi growled.

"Nor should one use guttural sounds. You're not an animal; or at least we think you aren't. Your recent behavior may indicate otherwise," Azula said with a smirk.

After Izumi finished all six hundred eighty hot squats she collapsed, the muscles in her legs and lower back spasming.

"Did Azula just kill her?" Zuko asked Mai.

"Did you really just watch the entire time?" Mai asked. Zuko turned to look at her. She had gone away, fetched a whetstone, come back and now stood with her back to the courtyard, leaning against the railing, sharpening the dozens of blades she carried up her sleeves.

Zuko frowned. "I wanted to make sure Azula didn't hurt Izumi."

"She won't," Mai sighed. "Trust me. We have been discussing her methods and monitoring Zumi's progress daily."

"Go take a bathroom break and then stretch. I have to go receive somebody," Azula ordered Izumi.

Izumi slowly pulled herself off the ground and walked off with great difficulty, cursing her merciless aunt under her breath.

"I thought Azula wasn't allowed to have guests," Zuko commented, turning to his wife with surprise.

"It is one of my guests. I thought he could be useful," Mai replied.

"You know I really don't like you going behind my back and conspiring with my sister again," Zuko commented.

"We're not conspiring against you. It is for Izumi, and you're busy running the nation. Let us handle this."

Azula returned with a young earthbending guard from Masaru's Estate.

"Lu?" Zuko asked Mai. She nodded.

"Just watch, Zuko," Mai reminded him. Zuko pouted and rested his chin on the railing.

"Here's the deal," Azula said, opening her hands casually. Izumi glared, recognizing him instantly from Saru's house. "Lu here is a metalbender. We are going to practice your defensive forms now, and if you mess up, Lu is going to wrap this cable around your bare little midriff there and I am going to charge it," Azula said holding up two fingers, making a couple sparks of lightning.

"That's inhumane!" Izumi yelled jumping back. "I am a princess! Not a koala-sheep or a buffalo-cow that you can herd around!"

"Then start ACTING like a Princess, Izumi!" Azula yelled back.

"I've been trying!" Izumi yelled lashing out at her aunt with a fire whip. Azula blocked it effortlessly. "I have been my whole life! I just need a break!" Izumi yelled turning away, pulling at her own hair.

"Princesses don't get breaks!" Azula replied.

"YOU had a break!" She screeched turning back to her aunt, stepping dangerously close to the former Princess of the Fire Nation. "A fourteen year break in PRISON!"

"That was forced retirement after my father destroyed me!" Azula laughed. "Yours asks so little of you and this is how you repay him? With defiance?"

Izumi laughed incredulously. "So little? Your father told you to conquer a kingdom! You got to be in command of ships, mechanists, zeppelins and soldiers when you were fourteen! I am twenty and what do I get to do? I get to be subject to STUPID lessons and rape DAILY!" Her teeth were bared like a feral animal, her normally beautiful face was scrunched up in agony, and her fists clenched so tightly that her nails pierced her hands and her palms bled.

Zuko's eyes widened and his head hung in shame. He had been so consumed with his Fire Lord duties that he neglected his own daughter. He thought he was doing the right thing. Letting her be free in her youth then giving her responsibilities when he thought she was ready, but…..

Zuko and both Mai's eyes widened at the outburst, with Mai doing a much better job than Zuko at hiding her shame. Ever since their daughter could walk they had subjected Izumi to etiquette lessons, firebending intensives, and hours of history lectures in an effort to arm her with knowledge and customs of all Four Nations, for at least half of every day, so that she may be better equipped than he had been to lead their nation through continued peace with the others. But in prioritizing the preparation of the new Fire Lord, they had neglected the girl underneath that would be the heart of their nation's future. They both knew all too well what happened when a father put too much on his daughter's shoulders, they thought sadly, looking down at his Azula.

Zuko leaned his head on the railing of the balcony in shame, coming to realize the gravity of the situation. He had been a fool to let her spend the rest of her time pursuing whatever she liked without restraint, building up unrealistic expectations for how a member of a royal family should behave. Or maybe he was expecting her to be like a royal of old in the first place? His rule was supposed to be one of reform in the Fire Nation, was it not? Had he not ended an oppressive 100 year war with the Avatar so that he could enact change and spread peace? And here he was with his new family; his daughter was feeling just as much, if not more, turmoil and pain as he did when he was fifteen. He had failed his daughter, and in doing so failed himself as a father.

Mai's brows sloped downward only slightly. She too had failed as a mother. Like her own parents, she had spent the last few years worrying so much about how the family appeared to the nation, and heeding the orders of the Fire Sages, that she had severed fibers in the fabric that held their family. Everything had been for the good of the Fire Family, for the Dynasty, for Zuko's reign. Just like how Mai's entire image had been sculpted solely to support Ukano's political climb in Ozai's time. She had promised herself that when she became a mother she would _never_ allow her children to be used as political pawns in a game that wasn't theirs to play. But her inability to carry more children had left them no choice. Hisoki's home was far from the Fire Nation Capital, and provided a solution to the Crown's waning influence on the outer islands, but was marrying off her only daughter the only option to solving such prickly internal issues. Was it worth it? At the time, she thought they were killing two birds with one stone; Izumi having to marry full Fire Nation, and possibly preventing an uprising, but was it worth betraying her daughter? Sacrificing her life and happiness. Izumi had trusted her mother unquestioningly all her life, even more so than her father, and now look where they were. Izumi was under severe emotional duress and she had dismissed it as some small, temporary thing.

With no expression on her face, Azula too stepped forward, intercepting Izumi. She put out the Princess's fire with ease and slapped her palm onto the girl's forehead, freezing her entire body in place with the use of dark lighting. Azula closed her eyes.

"What does she think she is doing?" Zuko asked, about to march down to the courtyard to stop Azula before Mai caught his hand.

"She's not going to hurt Izumi. Not physically, at least. I just asked her to check if Izumi is pregnant," Mai replied.

A smile spread across the ex-convict's face.

"Well that explains everything," Azula said letting go of the girl's head, making her fall to her knees.

"What did you just do to me?" Izumi asked panting.

"I mapped the electrical pathways in your body."

"I don't have electrical pathways in my body! I am not a robot or something-"

"No, you are not a robot. You are a human. Your muscles and nervous system operate on electrical pathways. And it appears you're growing a second of each system in there," Azula said pointing at Izumi's lower belly.

Izumi looked up at her with misery.

"You're pregnant," Azula informed Izumi.

"No!" Izumi shook her head. "NO!" She screamed punching both fists into the ground, creating a wave of fire. Azula split the fire, Lu rose an earthen wall as a shield and Zuko blocked for himself and Mai.

"I don't want to be, I am not ready!" Izumi cried. "It's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair. Your father and I know this only too well. You, on the other hand, have been spoiled! You think that because you are a princess, you get to do whatever you want. That you deserve peace. You deserve to be left alone when you want because you are unhappy. You don't deserve anything! You have to EARN such privileges and liberties!" Azula said to the girl.

"I gave my body away! And for what?"

"For your family to continue to reign. For peace and stability in the Fire Nation? For inspiration?" Azula suggested.

Izumi turned away. "Why can't mom and dad just put you back in prison?"

Azula walked over to the grumpy princess and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Because they, like you, know they can't get rid of me, because I am family." Azula stood up again. "I don't know how you can still be so upset. You should be celebrating, Zumzu! You are going to have a new baby! … And at least eight months without cock up your cunt."

Zuko gasped.

"Relax," Mai said to him.

"You use profanity and you were a princess. Why can't I?" Izumi grumbled holding her knees.

"Because I am no longer a princess and you still are so you must speak properly," Azula explained.

The next morning, Hisoki, Mai, and Zuko all sat at the breakfast table waiting for Izumi.

"She's late," Zuko grunted.

"She is not coming today," Mai informed her family.

Just then Iliana ran into the room. "My Lord! My Lady! Hisoki! The Princess is missing! Neither Kei-Lo nor I haven't been able to find her all morning! She is not in any of the usual places and has an appointment in an hour to see a healer about the baby! What should I do?"

"Have breakfast with us," Mai replied motioning to the empty chair.

Hisoki choked on his food.

"I b-beg your pardon?"

"She will be fine. I spoke with her this morning. She simply wanted to dress herself," Mai explained. Hisoki glanced at Zuko with concern. Mai, on the other hand, remained unfazed by their anxiety.

"Won't she be hungry? Or if not her then the baby? She can't skip breakfast! It is the most important meal of the day!" Iliana said in a panic.

"She has already raided the kitchens this morning. Don't worry," Mai said dabbing at her lips with the napkin in her lap.

The four dined in awkward silence, Mai offering Iliana the best of what was on the table like a mother would her child, but Izumi was missing.

Then, everyone saw out of their peripherals, a delicate, pale hand with manicured nails that were filed round and painted with a clear gloss, set a blade on the table.

"Thank you for letting me borrow it, Mother," Izumi said standing up again.

They looked up and saw Izumi dressed in her semi-formal robes, her hair, half its length from before, half tied up in a neat bun. In the bun, she wore her crown that she hadn't touched since the wedding.

"Princess, please! Have your seat back!" Iliana exclaimed jumping up quickly.

"I've no need. I raided the kitchens before I dressed this morning," Izumi replied. "But thank you for your kind offer," she added politely. "If you will carry on, I shall wait in the hallway. There are only two articles in the papers I've left to read. I've been trying to catch up on what has happened around the world since… since my retreat," Izumi said bowing, her long sleeves just touching the ground when she did before walking out of the room.

Hisoki coughed and Zuko's jaw dropped at the sight of the Princess. The new haircut made her neck look longer and her chin sharper, made her look taller. Her posture was perfectly rigid, just how tradition preferred it.

After everyone finished eating, they came out to find the princess exactly where she said she'd be, in the hallway, reading.

"Are you ready to see the healer?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, Father," Izumi replied, leading the way this time with a certain purposefulness in her long, brisk steps.

She undressed down to her chest bindings and underwear for the healer to inspect her body. The healer lifted a mass of warm, blue water and swirled it around her lower abdomen following the chi through her body, searching for any anomalies.

"Does it hurt?" Hisoki asked.

"Not at all," Izumi replied with her eyes closed and her fingers intertwined over her belly.

"Congratulations, My Lord, Mr. Hisoki. She is precisely five weeks along. The child will be born in summer, a good time with a higher chance of being a firebender," the healer said.

"That is wonderful news, Master Akira," Zuko said to the healer.

"I am glad," the healer turned to Izumi. "Princess?"

"Yes, Master Akira?" Izumi asked, sitting up.

"I must advise you against using your bending at all for the duration of the pregnancy. The electrical impulses and energy concentration required to produce fire blasts and lightning could overwhelm the embryo's developing system, and kill it," Master Healer Akira informed the princess.

Izumi listened and lowered her eyes, the other features of her face remaining unchanged. "Is there anything else I should keep in mind while he or she is growing?"

"Nothing that critical. We add provide the Palace Kitchen staff with a dietitian specializing in prenatal care to ensure you both get the nutrients you need, since we've heard, you have a tendency to skip meals when you're angry," Master Akira replied, glancing once at the Fire Lady Mai.

"Thank you, Healer Akira," Izumi said politely. "May I dress again?"

"Yes, thank you for your patience," Master Akira said, bowing to the princess.

They all watched Izumi pull on the exquisite robes shoulder pads and all and turn to face them again. "Father, may I speak with you privately?" Izumi asked.

"Of course," Zuko replied, not recognizing the poised young woman standing before him. Hisoki glanced at Mai who ignored him, more curious about what her daughter and husband would discuss.

"What is it?" Zuko asked Izumi in the hallway. The Princess turned, the skirts of her robes swirling around her tiny waist.

"I would like to join you," Izumi said up front. "I know my recent behavior has not been very- fit for even a princess, and I understand completely if you decline, but I think it is time I began shadowing you as a Fire Lord in training. I want to know what you do, and learn from you." Izumi looked up nervously, expecting hesitation or rejection. Almost hoping for the latter.

Instead, Zuko began crying and pulled her into his chest.

"Father, why are you crying?"

"It's just-you've grown up so much and in such a short amount of time!"

"I didn't really have a choice," Izumi replied with a perfectly steady voice, hiding all emotion. "And after all of my lessons, I have come to understand that such public displays of affection as this are no longer appropriate for people of our standing since they show weakness and vulnerability. Something our family must pretend to not have to stay influential in this backwards society."

"Izumi,"

"I've caught up on reading the papers; the people think we are both weak for loving others, having others that love us and while I fully intend on continuing to do all of those things, I know we cannot afford to let others see or else your influence on the nation will begin to wane." Izumi paused for a breath. "And I would like to do everything I can to keep our family in power since we seem like the only people in this country who don't want to use our influence to reconquer the world."

Zuko released his daughter and looked down at her. "That is very noble of you, Izumi. And I am so proud of you but so sorry for you at the same time. It was wrong of us to thrust so many huge responsibilities on your shoulders so suddenly, but you've managed to adjust so nicely and I could not be more grateful! I am be more glad to have you by my side as I rule the nation."

"Thank you, father," Izumi bowed. "So when can we begin?"

"The first session of the day will be at eleven in the throne room. You will sit by me on the throne-"

"Behind the fire?"

"Behind the fire."

"Very well."

"But first, I must warn you. This is a meeting with the council of generals. What we will be discussing is not something you can find in the papers."

Izumi nodded.

"Therefore, I must have some confidential information delivered to your office for you to skim through ahead of time."

Izumi bowed to him, and without even a hug goodbye, left for her office to await further instructions.


	11. Iroh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **OMFG, I was making a excel document to keep track of which characters appeared in which chapter (so I can update all the tags to reflect who appears in each chapter) and realized I literally forgot to post THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS between Chapter 9: "Coping" and Chapter 10: "Raising Hate"**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **So I am posting the missing ones now. This was supposed to be Chapter 11:**  
>  **_Iroh._**
> 
>  
> 
> **Next is 12: _The Assassination Attempt._**
> 
>  
> 
> **This is sooooooo embarrassing I guess that is what I get for writing so far ahead and then not posting until I forget what I have already done *cries***

When Izumi wasn't by her father's side in the throne room, she was in the nursery, watching her son, Iroh, just existing. She could not get enough of seeing his tiny lungs breathing, his tiny heart beating, his tiny eyelids fluttering open or closed when he woke and fell asleep, and his tiny lips clasping around her nipple to eat. If she had her choice, she would have just stayed with her son all day and evening. Mai was right. When the baby was born, everything got better. Izumi stopped hating the world and even started talking to Hisoki again.

"He's not even mobile. Don't you get bored looking?" Hisoki asked his wife, stopping by their bedroom to get something.

"Never," Izumi replied laying beside her son watching him investigate his newly found toes with a smile upon her face.

"It's not like he'll run away when you're not looking," Hisoki said with a smile, coming over to join Izumi on the floor of their room where the baby lay..

"I don't worry he'll run away. I just like seeing his eyes and his brain consuming everything. Watch with me, see how he looks at those toes. See how he blinks—how he touches them so carefully as if they'll burn or freeze. He still doesn't realize they're attached to him. He thinks they're floating." Izumi said, biting her tongue pensively.

"How do you know what he thinks. It is not like he can say anything—," Hisoki asked skeptically.

"Just look at his eyes, you'll see," Izumi replied.

"Hey Iroh! How are you liking those toes?" Hisoki asked pinching one lightly and wiggling it. Iroh's eyes widened hilariously as he felt the sensation of being touched but didn't quite comprehend the connection between the sight and the feeling. Hisoki and Izumi both laughed at the boy's wonder.

"You're right. It is nice to look at him," Hisoki said dreamily.

Once Iroh recovered from his toe being squeezed, he pulled it towards his own mouth.

"Nope! Dirty!" Izumi said, freeing the toe before it could reach the baby's lips.

Iroh looked up his mother with curiosity more than anything, not at all understanding why he couldn't shove his own foot into his own face.

"Maybe he's hungry!" Hisoki suggested. Izumi rolled her eyes but remained smiling as she watched Hisoki interact with Iroh. "Is there a way to check even though he can't speak?"

"Yep, offer him a knuckle," Izumi replied.

"A knuckle?" Hisoki asked completely perplexed.

"Yes, a knuckle," Izumi said curling her finger and showing him a knuckle on her hand. "It looks like a nipple to him so if he takes it, he's hungry."

Hisoki trusted her and offered the baby a knuckle. Iroh reached for his hand and shoved the knuckle in his mouth.

"EW!" Hisoki rubbed the saliva on his robes.

Iroh, confused, started crying.

"You startled him!" Izumi scolded.

"I'm sorry, I'll make it better," Hisoki said finding his feet, picking Iroh up, and bouncing him slightly, and sure enough, Iroh stopped crying. "Aww, there we go, Iroh. Now, are you hungry? I'm sure Mama Zumi would be more than willing to assist you! I would help if I could, but-" Hisoki grabbed his own chest and shrugged. "Things don't always work out the way we want them to," he said touching Iroh's tiny nose.

Izumi laughed.

"Shall I leave you to it, or would you like me to stay?" Hisoki asked looking up at his wife.

"While I feed him?" Izumi asked furrowing her brows.

"Yes,"

"I don't mind it either way," Izumi shrugged. "But if you're busy you can go,"

"I like watching him and you together," Hisoki said handing off the baby, kissing Izumi's cheek and then the top of Iroh's head on her shoulder as she walked over to a large arm chair.

Izumi placed him on the chair while she untied the waistband of her long flowing robes and slid off one of the sleeves, exposing a swollen breast. Then she picked up Iroh again and took a seat, lifting him to her chest.

"Does it hurt when he sucks on your nipple like that?" Hisoki asked, pulling over the stool from the Princess's makeup table.

Izumi laughed. "Not really. It's kind of strangely pleasant and somewhat tingly actually. Master Akira says that will change once he starts growing teeth,"

"Eek. Why don't you use a wet nurse?"

"I'm not sure. I guess just because my mother didn't with me," Izumi replied, stroking her baby's little head just like her mother did with her. It was so calming.


	12. The Assassination Attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **OMFG, I was making a excel document to keep track of which characters appeared in which chapter (so I can update all the tags to reflect who appears in each chapter) and realized I literally forgot to post THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS between Chapter 9: "Coping" and Chapter 10: "Raising Hate"**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **So I am posting the missing ones now. This was supposed to be Chapter**  
>  **12: _The Assassination Attempt._**
> 
>  
> 
> **This is sooooooo embarrassing I guess that is what I get for writing so far ahead and then not posting until I forget what I have already done *cries***

**Fire Fountain City 135AG**

The night was early. Izumi sat in her hotel room writing letters to her parents with her son in her lap, sleeping. Two imperial guards flanked her in her hotel room, two flanked the door outside, two were on the roof above her hotel room, and at least a dozen were on the ground covering all points of entry to the building.

They were on tour. Hisoki was representing Fire Lord Zuko and announcing several new decrees regarding industrialization, small business taxation, and education along with answering the questions of local city mayors and island governors. Izumi was tagging along and making public appearances at libraries, parks, orphanages, schools, and theatres. It was boring at times, but a nice break from the snake pit that was the Council of Ministers and Council of Generals in the Palace.

_Dear Father,_

_I am pleased to report that we have arrived safely in Fire Fountain City. Our reception was mostly positive. Only two people threw food from a crowd of an estimated ten thousand. I find it odd why some people in poverty think it reasonable to waste such a precious commodity by using it as a weapon against their governing body. It accomplishes nothing but waste…_

Izumi heard footsteps and subconsciously shifted Iroh from her lap into her left arm while still writing with her right. Hisoki never liked to find her with their baby in her lap unsupported. He was afraid Iroh would roll off and get hurt. Izumi on the other hand, knew that when her son slept, he didn't move. She could put him in his cradle, but preferred to keep him near; the warmth from his little life was comforting.

Just then, there was the sound of a scuffle outside the door and a body being thrown against it. Izumi's eyes shot up and her pen fell down, as she instinctively clutched her son to her chest. Both her guards bent into bending positions. There was the sound of a fight on the roof. One guard turned to the window in time to see one of the imperial guards falling.

"Princess, get under the desk!" the guard ordered. Izumi pushed the chair out and climbed under, holding her one year old son to her chest.

The sound of splintering wood filled the room as the door was kicked in. One guard ducked but the other was not so lucky. The slab of wood flew across the room with such a force that it decapitated the guard facing the window, taking its head with it into the night.

Izumi gagged at the sight and covered her son's eyes.

The remaining guard sent a fire blast, but that was not enough to hold the intruders back and he was stabbed with a spear.

Izumi covered her mouth.

"The imperial guard has officially fallen!" one man yelled.

"Finally!" another exclaimed with a sigh of relief, wiping his sword off on a leather belt.

"Is the Princess here?" a third asked.

"Checking now," the one with the spear said rounding the desk he tossed the spear aside and unsheathed two equally bloody dual swords. He pointed one under the desk, ready to spear whatever might be lurking under there.

The swordsman paused. "Did the master want her dead or alive?" the swordsman asked.

"Didn't matter to him," the tired one replied.

The swordsman pulled back to thrust the sword under the desk, but before he could push, an arrow came through the front of his chest, and he fell revealing an Archer in the window.

"Huh?" the tired one and the enthusiastic one gasped. The archer notched two more arrows and shot the two accomplices of the swordsman. The swordsman wore regular clothes and a face mask. The archer wore all black with an amber band around his left arm.

"We have the golden tangerine," the archer said into a radio. He turned to the window and whistled then jumped into the room through the window and walked towards Izumi.

Izumi's heart was beating out of her chest, yet somehow, Iroh still slept.

The archer turned his bow and arrow away and bent down. His face had a red tattoo around his eyes and on his forehead, the mark of the Yuyan Archers.

"Hey there, Princess. We need to get you to your husbands before the others make it up," the archer said. Wait! A female archer! The Pohuai Stronghold never accepted females into their school, let alone into their ranks! How did she get these tattoos?

"Others?"

"Assassins."

"Who do they fight for?"

"They're extremists that want to end Fire Lord Zuko's Legacy. They fight for the Phoenix Society, formerly called the New Ozai Society," the archer said, looking up at the door.

"And how do I know you're not just one of them trying to gain my trust?"

"You're a smart woman, Princess, but if I were one of them, I would have killed you already."

"Are you part of some secret force of my husband or father?"

"No."

"So who do you fight for?" Izumi asked.

"Like you, I fight for the Fire Nation. And it can't afford to lose its Princess. Now, we have to hurry!" The archer pulled Izumi out from under the desk and tore off her skirt, using it to tie Iroh to the Princess's chest. "You'll need to be able to climb onto the roof!" There was yelling in the hallway and the thundering of feet.

The archer whistled out the window and a cable came down, latching around Izumi's waist. It yanked her up into the air. She held onto Iroh and braces herself for a hard fall, but instead was caught by somebody.

"Are you alright?" the metalbender asked in a low hoarse voice.

"Yes," Izumi replied standing.

"And you still have your baby?"

Izumi touched his head. "Yes,"

"Good, let's go!" the archer said reappearing. She drew an arrow with a rope tied to it and shot it down at a building across the way and then tied it taught to a pole on the top of the building. The metalbender then fashioned a part of his cable into two handles.

"Princess, you come after me," the metalbender ordered jumping. Izumi grabbed on and the archer pushed her off the roof. They landed and looked up as the archer cut the rope.

"She's not going to make it!" Izumi said, looking up at the archer's silhouette in the moonlight as she took a spear, two swords and a dagger to the chest.

"She is not important. YOU ARE!" the metalbender said, grabbing Izumi's hand and dragging her through vacant streets and alleys until they reached the back of the convention center in the city, where two imperial guards stood flanking a door.

"You must go in alone. We cannot be seen," the metalender said, urging the princess forward towards the guards assigned to Hisoki.

"May I have your name so I could at least issue proper thanks when I return to the capital?" Izumi asked.

"No, Ma'am. It is forbidden," the earthbender replied.

"But that archer gave her life for me and my son. And you risked everything!"

"She gave her life to her country and her country needs its princess and prince," the earthbender said. "NOW GO!" with that, he buried himself underground.

Izumi turned and walked over to the imperial guards.

"Princess Izumi?"

"You're supposed to be at your hotel resting!"

"My guard at the hotel has been completely decimated in a blatant attempt on my life," Izumi replied.

The guards glanced at each other. "Come on," they said, linking arms behind her, leading her into the building to a secure room. Izumi refused to sit while she waited with Iroh still messily but securely tied to her body. She looked down at him and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Izumi!" Hisoki exclaimed, embracing her and checking on the well-being of the baby. "You've blood on your face! Were you fighting too?" he asked.

Izumi touched her face. She didn't even notice.

"And your skirts!" he said noticing the outermost layer torn off completely.

"I'm fine; stop fussing. An archer and a metalbender came and saved me," Izumi said pushing his hand away.

"How? Who were they?"

"I don't know who they were. They wouldn't tell me. The archer made a zip line so we could escape off the roof of the hotel and then she cut the line and took four blades to the chest."

"And the metalbender?"

"Accompanied me here and told me to go in alone. Said he couldn't be seen,"

"Sounds like he's the assassin to me. He could have just wanted us together and placed a bomb,"

"Hisoki, he's not the assassin! The assassins trying to take my life were dressed in regular clothes and killed all of the imperial guard assigned to me. These two people wore all black with an amber armband,"

"That means nothing! It could have all been staged, Izumi. Anyone can put on a change of costume and say anything. I KNEW you shouldn't have come on this tour. You've endangered us all!" Hisoki yelled.

"How could you blame me for this? We are a part of the Royal Family! We are ALWAYS in danger!"

"You should have stayed back at the palace!"

"Maybe you should have stayed back on whatever TINY ISLAND you hailed from!" Izumi shot back. Hisoki stepped away and turned.

 _This is not good_ , Izumi thought. She looked down at Iroh and held him a little tighter.

The next morning at breakfast, a familiar face arrived.

"Kei Lo!" Izumi leapt up and hugged her mother's best friend and advisor.

"Hello Princess,' Kei-Lo chuckled, returning the hug and patting the princess on the back as if she were still just a little girl. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

"A little shaken but otherwise fine. Devastated that the guards were killed but glad at least Iroh is alive, and Hisoki is… well…as Hisoki always is."

"Hello sir," Hisoki said, waving.

"Hello, Hisoki. Izumi, if you don't mind me asking, and if you're ready to speak, your mother would like to know the full details of whatever you witnessed last night. The captain of the imperial guard back at the capital doesn't believe that all of his best men could be slain by just a couple of assassins-"

"It wasn't just two against the imperial guard. At least five made it onto the roof by the time I escaped with the metalbender. A spear, two swords, and a dagger pierced the chest of the archer, and the fifth person just stood back watching. There were certainly others in the building fighting. I could hear them from outside even if I couldn't see them with my own eyes."

"What were they wearing?"

"Just regular clothes. The archer and the metalbender wore all black with an amber collar on their left sleeves, though," Izumi recalled.

"Amber, you say? Yes, that should be enough." Kei Lo thought aloud.

"Yes, is there something special about amber?" Izumi inquired.

"Not particularly. It is just not typically a color you would use to describe a matte fabric. Most people would say orange. But the fact that you recognized amber… never mind. I am probably only confusing you. I should report back to your mother, and YOU," Izumi raised a brow. "You need to finish breakfast, feed Iroh, and not forget about the orphanage visitation at eleven and then the firebending school visitation at five in the afternoon."

"I won't forget," Izumi reassured Kei-Lo.

"I know you won't." He said, kissing the top of her head as he passed. "As soon as I finish the report to your mother, I shall return to your side and guard you until the new escort arrives."

"But what about my mother? Doesn't she need you back at the capital?"

"Your mother is more concerned with your survival than my advising. She can handle a few days on her own," Kei-Lo replied with a warm smile.

Kei-Lo always was so kind and for that, Izumi was grateful.

* * *

**In some Nondescript building**

"Your report?"

"The Golden Tangerine has been secured,"

"And what is the status on Emerald?"

"In the hospital with two fractured ribs after the hostage exchange went awry,"

"And the Jade?"

"Recently passed her metalbending exam, and is an excellent dancer, I must confess."

The Master smiled. "Thank you, for your sacrifice, risk and time, protecting the peace and balance of this world."


	13. Raising Hate

#  **The Spare**

Upon returning to the Fire Nation, the Fire Sages demanded the royal couple begin trying for a second child. If anything were to happen to Izumi or Iroh, they needed another successor for the throne.

“Classic. An heir and a spare,” Izumi muttered sitting on the edge of her bed.

“You could just defy them. Your mother only had you--”

“Shut up,” Izumi growled.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard correctly. Shut up!” Izumi yelled turning to Hisoki. “You have NO IDEA what my mother had to go through--what she had to lose just so that I could breathe my first breath of air!”

Hisoki looked down silently and continued folding back his sheet.

“You’re not going to say anything?” Izumi asked, hurt.

“You told me to shut up,” Hisoki replied plainly. Izumi turned over and fell on top of the covers and grabbed her pillow, covering her head with it and screaming.

* * *

“I am starting to think Hisoki is not the man he used to be,” Izumi said to her mother while gazing at some distant point on the horizon outside of the tea room.

“I have been thinking he never was the man we knew him as those two years of courting,” Mai responded guilt ridden.

“After this spare is born, I want him gone, Mother.”

“But your reputation--”

“How can we encourage the people of our nation to spread love and peace throughout the world, if we subject ourselves to misery trying to comply with outdated and unnecessary traditions? The people will understand!”

“I’m not sure they would, unfortunately,” Mai replied.

* * *

The labor was longer than with Iroh, more grueling, and as soon as the baby was crowning, they knew something was wrong.

“Oh no--” Master Akira said reaching her hand into Izumi to assist the rotation of the infant.

“WHY ARE YOU SAYING ‘OH NO’? WHAT’S WRONG?!” Izumi shrieked sitting up before throwing her head back as Hisoki and Zuko held her hands down.

Akira looked to Mai who nodded and put a hand behind Izumi’s neck.

“You can’t put her out! The Baby is still--”

“You! Hold her head still!” Mai yelled, REALLY yelled at one of the healer’s apprentices.

The apprentice nodded and held down Izumi’s head.

“MOTHER, WH----” Izumi screamed before she went still. The baby was out.

“The baby didn’t make it,” Master Akira said, unwrapping the umbilical cord from the fetus’s neck. Zuko fell into his chair by his daughter’s bed, devastated. Mai touched her daughter’s head, checking that the technique still worked. Her daughter breathed, her heart still beat, but she was otherwise out cold.

“Why did you do that?” Hisoki asked Mai, also sitting, across from Zuko, looking at Izumi’s unconscious form.

“Because I didn’t want her to see,” Mai said, looking at the lifeless form in Master Akira’s hands. “I didn’t want her to see what she almost became when she came out of me! I have caused my daughter too much pain already. I could spare her from seeing this, at least,” Mai said.

“How shall we proceed, Hisoki?” Akira asked.

“With what?” Hisoki asked.

“Shall we hold a funeral for the child or have her cremated?”

“Cremated, and nobody will ever hear about this-- this failure!” Hisoki spat with a certain acidity in his tone, looking at Izumi as he answered. Mai frowned. Zuko shifted in his seat uneasily. After a moment in thought, Mai reached over the birthing table, grabbed Hisoki by the collar with one hand and swung the other as hard as she could across his face.

“See the child is gone before she wakes,” Mai ordered the healer as Hisoki rubbed his jaw.

“Yes, my Lady!” the healer said rushing away.

Zuko lowered his arm so Mai could get closer to her unconscious daughter. A tear fell from her eye as she looked down at her baby and placed a hand on her cheek.

“Hisoki?” Izumi asked as her eyes fluttered open.

Hisoki said nothing as he stared down at her.

“I’m sorry,” Izumi whimpered. By her mother’s reaction, she knew. “The baby didn’t make it, did she?”

“You’re not,” Hisoki said.

“Excuse me?” Mai asked, her own anger flaring

“You could have prevented this! All of it! You should have stayed home, in bed! A woman’s place is not with her husband traveling, overexerting herself daily at the expense of her own baby!”

“You’re insane, Hisoki!” Izumi yelled.

“How DARE you accuse her of such a thing!” Zuko yelled getting to his feet.

“I AM THE PRINCESS OF THIS NATION! I cannot simply remained locked away in this spirit-damned palace reproducing like a broodmare. Her death was nobody’s fault! Her spirit simply just wasn’t ready to join us in this world, and probably for good reason!” Izumi yelled at Hisoki.

Hisoki stared at her, eyes filled with hate, fury, and grief. “I’m leaving,” he announced exiting the ward quickly.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Mai yelled.

“Somewhere where I’m worth more than the seed I provide to make heirs!” Hisoki replied.

“Hisoki!” Izumi threw off her blankets and launched herself out of bed, but missed the ground with her feet, falling on one foot and one hand and knee.

“ZUMI--” Zuko yelled, dropping by her side, scooping her up, and placing her back in bed as she clutched her battered body. “You can’t go anywhere! Your pelvic bone is still detached and your hips are open! You must stay until everything is back in its place!”

Izumi was panting from the overwhelming pain that coursed through her body from pushing.

“Guards! Don’t let him leave the palace!” Mai yelled. He glanced at his wife, silently passing off care of Izumi to her before bolting out the door after Hisoki.

“Mother, Iroh!”

“Kei Lo is bringing him!” Mai said. “And just in time!” Kei Lo entered through a side door and placed the two year old on the bed next to Izumi. Iroh automatically curled up under her arm for safety.

Just then was an explosion of white fire in the hallway. Izumi raised an open palm and blocked the incoming debris with a wall of blue fire as Mai and Kei-Lo, both non-benders leaned closer to her. Her arm fell, exhausted from labor and lack of sleep.

Zuko ran back in coughing. “Hisoki’s gone.”

* * *

#  **The Search**

  
As soon as Izumi was well enough, she insisted upon joining the search effort for Hisoki.

“Absolutely not!” Zuko had told her when he heard wind of her plan to leave.

“And why not?” Izumi asked defiantly. There was a glint of determination in her golden-tangerine colored eyes. Zuko knew at that moment she couldn’t be stopped, but he thought he would try to anyways to change her mind.

“It is not safe for a woman to travel without an escort.”

“Then send the escort. I’ll lose them quickly,”

“It is not safe for a princess to travel--”

“I’ll leave the crown at home. I’ll hide my bending. No one will know who I am.”

“It is not that easy to hide your identity,”

“You managed even with your scar, for years,” she reminded him sharply.

“Izumi, what about Iroh!”

“He is young. He has Mother. She already approved my travel plans.”

“She approved--- Seriously, Izumi, what is with you two conspiring behind my back!

“Look, as long as Hisoki is out there, and I am legally bound to him, I cannot rest. We cannot encourage our rapidly progressing nation to seek out and spread peace and happiness if we subject ourselves to pain simply to appease the few radicals who may start another pro-Ozai uprising. I don’t care about my reputation anymore. I need to find Hisoki, and I need to end him. To be able to establish and maintain peace in my nation, I must first find peace in myself,” Izumi explained.

Zuko looked down at her from his throne. Everything she said made perfect sense. The Fire Lord will never be able to please the entire population, but they had to focus on the majority. The wellbeing of the whole organism and not just a small part about it, and if Izumi broke like Azula, there would be no saving the Fire Nation.

“Izumi, you are my only daughter,”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“You don’t always act like it,” Izumi muttered under her breath.

“And I will let you go alone,” Zuko said pretending he didn’t hear her, hiding how much her words hurt. “But only because I trust you, and understand that this is a journey you need to take, but you must promise me one thing,”

Izumi looked up at him again.

“When you do face Hisoki again, don’t choose revenge. Don’t kill him for playing our family. Let out your anger, and then let it go. Forgive him.”

“HOW CAN I FORGIVE HIM? HE BLAMED ME FOR KILLING OUR BABY! HE LIED TO US ALL JUST TO GET INTO THE PALACE AND GET HIS NAME KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD!”

“And what has he done with that? Nothing! He hasn’t gone to the papers yet, he hasn’t slandered our name, he hasn’t raised an army--”

“You don’t know that!”

“He wasn’t kind, I know, and I am sorry for not noticing sooner and stopping it. I am sorry for failing as a father to protect you. But at the same time, you cannot put full blame on him for his behavior either. You were both just following orders,” Zuko reminded her. “Be merciful, Izumi. You will be the first Fire Lord with the chance to ascend to the throne with a completely clean name with all four nations. Don’t dirty your hands with the blood of your enemies until absolutely necessary, IN DEFENSE. Don’t make the same mistakes as your ancestors. And don’t make the same mistakes as me.”

“Yes, Father,” Izumi said waiting a moment. “If that is all, may I go pack?”

“Yes.”

* * *

Izumi went to pack. She had her son rolling around on the bed with a few toy soldiers, and a few dolls. He had tied one doll to the bedpost and was planning a rescue with the toy soldiers. In the village between the pillows where the remaining dolls were sitting.

“Whoever taught you that?” she asked Iroh, thinking of the unknown female archer who gave her life to keep the two of them safe. Iroh wasn’t listening, too caught up in his imaginary scenario.

“May I come in?” Mai’s voice asked from the doorway.

“Of course,” Izumi said. Her hair was down, just past her shoulders, her face flawless. She wore peasant clothes with nice wide sleeves and a long skirt. On her bed she had a pair of dual swords, and an array of knives.

“What do you think you’ll be taking?” Mai asked coming to stand next to her daughter.

“I’m seriously considering taking neither.”

“Why?”

“They’re identifiers,” Izumi replied. “The sword is made of the highest grade titanium plated steel that only our family can afford to mine and forge in the first place, and the knives have our crest carved into it.”

“You’re wise to want to hide your identity,” Mai said. “But at the same time, you must accept who you are, Izumi. You are my daughter, and the daughter of Fire Lord Zuko. You are the Princess of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne…and ordinarily, I would ask you to conduct yourself accordingly when you leave, but there comes a time when rules and traditions only hinder one from doing the _right thing_.”

Izumi looked up at her mother.

Mai reached onto the bed and picked up a set of throwing knives.

“Don’t worry about the crest, and don’t forget about chi-blocking. This is not a slight to your father, but his sword is a bit harder to conceal,” Mai said placing the knives in Izumi’s hand.

Izumi slid the sleeve up her right arm and the other up her left and hugged her mother.

“One more thing,” Mai said, pulling a stack of papers out of her robes.

“I sent scouts out during your recovery. This is all we could find. But as of now, nobody outside the family and our immediate staff know Hisoki is missing. I am sure you’d like to keep it that way as well, so burn these before you get onto the ship to the Earth Kingdom.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Izumi turned to Iroh who looked at her curiously, not recognizing her in such casual wear with black fingerless gloves and no bun.

“That’s good. If your own son doesn’t recognize you, then neither should people on the other side of the world,” Mai said.

Izumi laughed and picked up her son anyways. Iroh touched her face and leaned his head on her chest.

“I may not love your father, but I will always love you to the world and back, Iroh. Try to understand. I will come back for you, I promise, but in the meantime, be good to Gran Gran. She may not seem like she is capable of feeling, but she loves you too more than you could ever imagine,” Izumi said to her baby. He said nothing and continued playing with a lock of her hair.

She held him a little while longer, then handed him to her mother and left.

* * *

Izumi read the leads in the carriage ride to the docks of the Fire Nation Capital. All of her practice reading in preparation for war meetings, grand assemblies, and conferences with the ministers of finance and industry made Izumi well skilled at memorizing facts quickly and with great detail. After the hour carriage ride, she climbed out with the stack of papers in her head and all of the leads in her head organized by which she wanted to pursue first. As soon as Izumi let go of the carriage and stepped her second foot onto the cobblestone, her left hand burst into red flames engulfing the papers letting the ashes be scattered by the wind.

“Do you have everything you need, Miss?” the carriage driver asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Izumi replied heading to the docks to buy passage to the United Republic.

* * *

She spoke to her mother’s spies in Republic City, then Omashu, then Ba Sing Se. She traveled through the Serpent’s Pass, flying over the part where the path went underwater, wondering if her father had ever walked these trails across the world. She got an eel-hound in a merchant village and rode it from the Serpent's Pass to Chin village, wondering what it would be like to have a pet dragon and fly. She traveled along the coast talking to locals, showing them a picture of Hisoki in normal clothes, hiding her face as often as possible, and coming to realize just how many people in the Earth Kingdom had green eyes. Everyone in the Fire Nation had varying shades of brown, gold, and orange colored eyes.

She even found the legendary bounty hunter named June who had a pet Shirshu that could track anybody all over the world. She followed the bounty hunter to a rocky region near the Great Divide.

“Nyla is getting twitchy so he shouldn’t be far. She thinks he’s probably underground. Do you happen to be an earthbender?” June asked sliding off her Shirshu.

“No, but hold your animal still, and cover her ears,” Izumi said sliding off her eel-hound, wrapping the reins several times around her arm. She pointed two fingers at the ground in front of them and blasted it with blue lightning cracking the ground until it completely caved in revealing a supply room of sorts. The animals reared.

“Loot it, I don’t care, I’ll pay your weight in gold if you find him,” Izumi said as she slid down the pile of rubble into the supply room..

“Why are you so hellbent on going after this guy anyways?” June asked, following her after tying Nyla to a tree.

“He hurt my family, and he hurt me in a way that can’t be forgiven,” Izumi replied subconsciously placing her left hand on her lower abdomen. “And I want to kill him.”

June looked curiously at this young woman. She was so young, yet showed so much anger and pain in her narrow eyes. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-three,” Izumi replied.

“Have you ever even killed a man before?” June asked, appalled. How could a girl so young already be out for blood? How could anyone have hurt her so badly? Death, killing and its finality were clearly beyond this _child’s_ comprehension. She should be somewhere basking in the sun, relaxing under the protection of her parents or at the very least, some friends. She should be enjoying her youth.

“Does it matter? There’s a first time for everything, right?” Izumi replied turning into a dark hall, igniting a small red flame for light.

“Yes, but--” June grabbed Izumi’s shoulder. Izumi flashed the flame in the bounty hunter’s face as a warning not to touch her, but the bounty hunter evaded it, looping her wrist around Izumi’s and forced her to the ground with both hands behind her back, twisting her shoulders. “You’re too young for murder, kid.” June said to Izumi, making sure to keep the girl’s wrists over her shoulder so she couldn’t firebend in the non-bending bounty hunter’s face.

“You don’t know me!” Izumi growled with frustration, feeling her breath hitch in her throat and tears bead in the corners of her eyes.

“You’re right, I don’t know you. But I know you were born after the war. You were spared so much devastation. You should count yourself lucky and not be like my generation.”

“You’re just a sellsword, not an imperial advisor so unhand me!” Izumi yelled angrily.

“Spoken like an entitled little prince I once knew, _Princess_ Izumi,” June said letting go.

Izumi remained on her knees, massaged her wrists and stretched her shoulders then lit a flame again. Great. The bounty hunter knew her name only because she reminded the woman of her place. She looked up and saw a door at the end of the hallway with light shining through the crack at the bottom.

“Must be deaf to not hear your little lightning,” June commented as they walked towards the door.

Izumi kicked it down and a young boy stood up. Izumi threw four knives pinning the boy to the wall behind him.

“THERE’S MONEY IN THE SUPPLY ROOM!” the boy cried. It was a radio room. Izumi looked around and switched every receiver and transmitter off then turned her attention to the boy. She placed a hand on his chest and paralyzed his body from the neck down long enough to remove the knives from the wall and replaced them in her sleeve.

“Please!”

“We’re not interested in money. We need information. Hisoki Ibonara. WHERE IS HE?!”

“Hisoki?” the boy asked.

Izumi raised him higher by his collar.

“There’s a Hisoki in the team of handlers. I don’t know his last name. I just heard he was going to make a delivery somewhere in the Southern Earth Kingdom. Needed train tickets for the National Rail’s Omashu to Gaoling line for some reason. But I don’t know what stop he will get off at!” the boy cried.

“Its something,” June shrugged.

“Or he’s lying to get us to leave,” Izumi replied.

“And how do you intend on finding out?”

Izumi let go of the boy, releasing the block on the synapses in his nervous system. Just as he moved his wrist, she zapped him with dispersed lightning, the type that didn’t leave scars anywhere on the body.

“Tell me where Hisoki is!”

He told the exact same information.

“Okay,” she accepted it the second time. She was going to leave before she remembered the radios. She grabbed the boy and shoved him out of the door, then torched the entire room, melting the equipment completely then closing the door. The boy shrieked.

“So you can’t warn the south that I am coming,” Izumi replied.

* * *

In Gaoling, she met another one of her mother’s spies who were sending back reports on Izumi’s wellbeing to the capital. She refilled her gold, silver, and copper supply, and sharpened her knives and decided to rest her feet for a week while the spies went searching through the region and city.

“Have you given up yet?” Kei-Lo asked, arriving in the city on the second day to speak to the Princess and make sure she was okay.

“Do you know me to give up so easily?” Izumi replied with her fingers linked, and her hands draped over her stomach as she lay on a couch in the luxurious Beifong Estate, courtesy of some family friends.

“I’ve known you to complain, occasionally,” Kei-Lo replied.

Izumi smiled for a moment. “I will find him,” Izumi informed Kei Lo before closing her eyes. “And there’s one place I haven’t yet looked.”

“I won’t let you go into the Si Wong Desert,” Kei-Lo said adamantly.

“And why not?”

“It is not safe! There are bandits, thieves, sandbenders--”

“The perfect hiding place then. He’ll know my parents and advisors are against it,” Izumi replied sighing, wanting nothing more than to sleep before journeying into the desert.

“Princess, please, don’t do this,” Kei-Lo begged.

Izumi stood up with a heavy sigh and looked up at her mother’s best-friend and advisor.

“The only way to stop me from going, is physically, Kei-Lo. I’m sorry,” she said walking past him to go to a private room and shut everyone out for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Five days later, Izumi set out for the desert. She sold her eel-hound in a merchant town about halfway there. The beast wasn’t bred to endure extreme heat, and Izumi knew it would be hard enough to just keep herself hydrated and fed. She changed into sandbender clothes in an alleyway in the merchant town to try to hide her extremely pale skin that blatantly gave away her status as at least Fire Nation Nobility, then hitched a ride with a merchant on his way to the Misty Palms Oasis.

“A word of advice, Girl,” the merchant said to Izumi just before they arrived.

Izumi looked up at him curiously. After an eight hour ride in silence, he only now spoke?

“Keep your eyes down out here,” he said. “The color gives you away, _Golden-Tangerine_ ,” the merchant said, cracking the reins of the two ostrich horses that pulled his cart.

“Thank you,” Izumi said pulling her mask a little higher on her nose and her hood a little lower on her forehead until they covered her brow.

She looked at the ground as she approached the pub her father spoke about in all of his stories of exile. She thought on his life and his journey. How much struggle, how he had to fight. And she had everything. She paused to glance at the bulletin where a couple of wanted posters and advertisements for various services were hung, imagining her father and great uncle’s face among them.

She was tempted to tack up Hisoki’s photo up there. _Wanted dead or alive,_ she thought she might add at the top of the photo, _to be taken back to the Fire Nation,_ supervised, and kept hushed. She turned away from the bulletin and entered the pub.

She was already starting to feel fatigued from the heat as she approached the bar for a drink.

“Watermelon and peach, please. And spike it,” Izumi told the bartender, slamming two coppers on the counter before turning away.

“What percentage?” the bartender asked suspiciously, not used to hearing please, or the slight hesitation before the request to spike the fruity drink.

“Twelve,” Izumi replied.

The bartender hesitated. Izumi could hear his breathing, feel his gaze on the back of her covered head.

Foreigner. They both knew the other knew as he slid over the drink. Izumi pulled down the mask just enough to be able to smell the drink clearly before lifting the mask up again. Part of her training back at the palace included smelling for common poisons before eating or drinking. One of her exams when she was thirteen years old included determining the percent cactus juice in a drink. The substance was a dangerous hallucinogen that made one characterize inanimate objects, become delirious and then fatigued. Izumi knew her tolerance. She and Saru discovered each other’s when they were fifteen during one of their kitchen raids. Hers was twelve percent to dull the pain yet retain her sanity. His was seventeen. And by the smell of this, Izumi could tell the bartender thought he might try to get lucky.

Izumi turned and chucked the glass at his head head as he ducked.

“I SAID TWELVE PERCENT NOT SIXTY!” she yelled as the ice cup shattered against the opposite wall, the drink spraying over everything.

Everyone in the bar turned to see, but Izumi was no longer facing their direction on her stool. She placed her head down on the counter, tired, and wanting to hide the color of her eyes.

The bartender frowned, but made her a new drink nonetheless. She smelled it and took a sip, tipping him a copper. He’s just a man. Such simple creatures indeed, she thought as she tasted the sweet watermelon and peach.

“Hey stranger,” a man said sitting next to her at the bar. “You’re not from around here are ya?”

“No,” Izumi replied with both elbows on the counter, looking down at her ice cup, finding it difficult to slouch after decades of being indoctrinated to sit up straight with her spine curved at a certain radius and her chin tilted at a certain angle, always.

“What what brings ya out here in disguise?” the man asked.

“Trying to find a man,” Izumi replied sliding over the photograph, and looking away so he wouldn’t see her eyes.

“That guy? Came in with a couple o’ bandits a few days ago. Kidnapped some kids and left,” the man said sliding the picture back.

Izumi’s eyes narrowed. Hisoki was worse than they thought. Kidnapping kids? She worried for the first time then about Iroh. _Please mother_ , she begged. _Don’t let him out of your sight_.

“Which direction?!” Izumi asked.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked clicking his tongue.

Izumi frowned under her mask. “I want to kill him.” Well, that is what she told June at least. Might as well be consistent with her reasoning.

“If you really wanted to kill him, you wouldn’t go around the world tellin’ people that. They might lock you up.”

“He took something from me,” Izumi said.

The man looked down noticing her hand move to her lower abdomen.

“Your kid or your cunt?” the man asked.

She turned to him, appalled he would have the audacity to say such a thing. Then she cursed herself for making eye contact with the man and looked down at the cup again for a second before chugging the thing and smashing the ice on the table top. Izumi sighed in frustration, regretting chugging the drink so quickly.

“I guess you could say both,” she replied.

“He went into the desert towards Ba Sing Se. My guess is he’s going to sell the kids to the Earth Queen’s Dai Li. There’s a trading village about half ways there from where we are now. I can take you on my sand sailer if you’d like. I’ve finished my last delivery for the week and have a few days,” the man offered.

“Sure,” Izumi replied. The bartender looked at the man with jealousy.

 _If he is lying to me and also wants just to fuck, I’ll kill him too_ , thought Izumi as she followed him out of the bar. Gosh if her father saw how she was acting, thinking, he would be so…. Angry.

But Izumi didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything but finding Hisoki. She lifted the mask higher and pulled the hood lower hiding as much of her face as she could.

* * *

_The sand sailer seemed like a fast method of travel_ , Izumi thought as she held onto its frame, but she knew it would be still a few days to cross the desert to Ba Sing Se. “Do you think he’s already in the City?” Izumi asked the sandbender.

“Nah. Most of the trade is done where we’re going. Customs is too nitpicky ‘round the capital.”

Izumi didn’t reply. She was too filled with hate to respond. She hated the Fire Sages for putting up an ad for her hand in marriage without her consent. She hated Hisoki for responding to that ad. She hated him for playing her family. She hated him for leaving, and now she also hated him for participating in child trafficking. Just when she thought she couldn’t hate any more, she realized that she also hated the Dai Li from all of her father’s stories, and now she was beginning to hate the new Earth Queen Hou-Ting for reestablishing that horrible secret police and growing it out of kidnapped children that Hisoki was helping to collect!

“You alright back there, lady?” the sandbender asked turning back to Izumi. She looked up.

“LOOK OUT!” she screamed pointing ahead. A giant sand serpent leapt out of the dunes nearly destroying the sand sailer. It veered to the side and around as Izumi held onto the ropes.

“Still there?” the sand bender asked.

“Yeah,” Izumi replied examining rope burn on her fingers.

“Yeh must have soft hands. And those ropes are old,” he commented.

Izumi shrugged off the comment. Of course everyone out here would be so callous, but she was raised in a palace. She unwrapped the strip of fabric on her forearms and rewrapped it to cover the wounds and stop the bleeding.

“You don’t talk much, do you, lady?”

“I used to. Just not recently,” Izumi replied looking away.

The Trading village was putting it mildly; it was actually a full on city in the middle of the desert. _How was it not on any map in the Fire Nation?_ Izumi thought. Hopefully they would stay until night so she could map their location based on the constellations and add it to the map when she got back to the Palace.

There was a metal hub, a wooden hub, a crystal hub, a food hub, and a human hub, much to Izumi’s disgust. “How can the Earth Queen let something like this exist?” Izumi asked aloud as she walked past laborers being sold in chains. There were stalls that sold smiths, miners, farmers, craftsmen, seamstresses, then finally women and children.

“This way,” the sandbender said taking Izumi’s hand. She reached into the folds in her robes for a knife, just in case.

They walked past the inspection lines and the bidding area to the offices in the back of this horrible establishment. Izumi took a deep breath to keep herself from killing the masters right there. But this was not her kingdom. If she were caught and delivered to the Earth Queen for disrupting one of her profitable trades, it could be disastrous for the entirety of the Fire Nation. She made a mental note to at least mention it to her father, and maybe even the White Lotus and her friends in Republic City.

The sandbender reached a door. He knocked. “Wait here,” he said going in. Moments later, he emerged with one of the Masters of the establishment.

“This way,” they said leading her a few doors down. “He’s making a delivery but will be back in a few minutes. If you could just wait in here,” they said opening the door. Izumi peeked in. the room was completely barren, with stone floors. Her split second inspection gave them just enough time to kick her into the room and slam the door, locking it.

“You BASTARDS!” she screamed slamming her fists onto the door.

“Nice catch. I could tell by her eyes, she’s young and pretty. Will fetch a healthy price, I already have a buyer in mind,” the man said outside the door..

“How much will you pay me for her?”

“Pay you? Your mistake was bringing her here unannounced. She’s mine now.” the man said knocking on the iron door.

“I belong to NO ONE!” Izumi yelled banging her fists on the door again.

They laughed at her.

Izumi paced, then she remembered. She could melt the door possibly, but she didn’t want to hurt the people being bidded for. Maybe death would be a mercy. But no, not by torching, Izumi thought. What fire could she control?

She stood in the center of the room. Sphere. She put her fists together and concentrated, then dropped kicking up onto her hands spinning on her hands, firebending a ball with her feet.

“Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” the merchant asked.

The sandbender shrugged. Izumi stopped building and stood on her feet again and turned out her hands. She heated the red sphere with her hands to be blue, and expanded it, breaking down all the walls, melting the door, and collapsing part of the floor above before fleeing out the back of the building. She ran to the edge of town and kept running into the desert. After she scaled the first mountainous dune, she used her feet as rocket thrusters to launch herself over the next and the next and the next. For three hours, she ran, getting as far from the town as possible before collapsing on her chest. She pulled out her canteen and drank a little, capped it and fell asleep.

When Izumi woke, it was night and she was half buried in sand. Maybe it was a sign she should just stay and die. No. She had a son waiting for her back home. A son, a father, a mother, and a nation. She had to keep going. She unburied herself and walked, in less of a hurry than before, to get away from the child traffickers. She had made enough smoke to distract them from whichever direction she was running, so if they searched, they shouldn’t be able to find her. She was safe for a little while, at least. She looked up at the sky, at the stars, trying to remember all of the astronomy and navigation classes she had as a child.

She decided to head East, to Ba Sing Se. There she could either continue the search for Hisoki, or head to the Fire Nation Embassy, and go home.

After a day, she regretted not stealing food before fleeing that awful merchant city. After another, she was running out of water. On the third, she was near collapsing. She looked up at the stars. Four days, she thought recognizing the constellations. Four days left on foot. Maybe eight at this rate.

She drank the last of her water then pulled up her scarf and pulled down her hood again. She wanted to cry over her foolishness and naivety. She hated herself for trusting Hisoki and that random guy in the bar at the Misty Palms Oasis. She almost got herself sold into Earth Kingdom Slavery. She stupidly fled into the desert on foot without anything to eat. If she couldn’t even plan this journey as it happened, how could she ever hope to rule her country responsibly. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled her fingers into the sand. No, she couldn’t cry. She would lose precious water if she did, water she couldn’t afford to lose.

Her sadness turned to anger, and her anger turned to pain as she fell to her hands and knees, choking back sobs.

When she first met Hisoki, he was a polite young man. He knew politics. He was a good talker and could engage in intellectual conversations with her parents and her before she fell apart. Then they were married. He became dull. Plain. All he focused on was getting her pregnant, and bettering his own name. She realized, he never cared about her in the first place. All he wanted, or all his mother wanted, probably, was the fame of being married to the Princess.

_Hisoki- I should have known. Even your name means “secretive”. No amount of observation or interrogation could have prepared us for this betrayal._

“Hisoki, WHERE ARE YOU?!” she screamed throwing her head back, feeling the sand melt below her hands and feet. She roared like a dragon then bowed her head and took a deep breath. She felt fire building up inside her body. It was a fire she didn’t recognize but she didn’t care. She watched the veins start to show through the skin on her hands and fingers. She felt her entire body tense, and her vision become blurry. It was just fire. She wouldn’t feel anything, she thought as she closed her eyes and let the flames consume her completely.

# 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork for this ending scene is by AATKAW on tumblr! He made it so quickly and I am completely in love with it.
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think of this story. All criticisms and feedback is greatly appreciated.  
> And thanks again to MusicPlayer81 for beta reading it!


	14. Finding Peace

# The Desert Lady

There were about eight sand sailers traveling.

“Why don’t we stop here for a food break, Orel!” the captain yelled at one of the sandbenders powering one of the other sailers.

“Hear that, Nala?” Orel yelled at the child on the back of his sailer.

“Yep! On it, Daddy!” Nala yelled leaping off of the sailer as it came to a stop. She spread her legs and bent an area of sand into a hard stone surface, then started unpacking some pots and pans.

They were about half way through their meal when they heard a fire cackling, much louder than their own. They turned and over the dunes rose a figure. It was a massive blue, flaming, figure heavily resembling a woman.

“The fire spirits must be angry with us!” an older man yelled jumping up.

“But we’ve done nothing wrong!” Nala yelled. “We’re just sandbenders, not sand bandits!”

“Nala! Back down!” Orel barked yanking his daughter back by the hand.

“No, I want to go see the spirit!” Nala yelled bending skis onto her feet, sailing up the sand dunes. Her father went after her.

“Nala it could be dangerous!” Orel yelled running after her.

“But I haven’t seen anything but sand and you guys for WEEKS!” Nala replied going faster than her old, tired father.

The blue figure was still growing. Nala stopped skiing up the dunes and watched it in awe. They could feel the heat radiating from its body.

“By jolly, the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se would only come up to its knee,” Orel gasped.

“I don’t know, but if it’s angry, I don’t want to be in its path!” another sandbender yelled.

“I second that!” a third added jumping on his sandsailer. The others fled while Nala and Orel watched the figure reach its full height and turn. It was definitely a woman.

“Daddy, she’s crying!” Nala said looking up at the figure’s face. It was a rather beautiful face for something on fire. It’s brows sloped downward a away from the nose. It’s eyes were almost completely closed, it’s mouth slightly open, and it was sniffling. Its entire flaming chest rising and falling with each hiccup. And its arms crossed. Not crossed.

“It’s holding a sandbender! ONE OF US!” Nala gasped seeing brown through some of the flares as they flickered from the figure’s forearms high in the sky. “We have to help!” Nala yelled skiing down the other side of the dune.

“NALA! Look out!” Orel said grabbing his daughter as a massive fire ball came crashing down into the dunes, splashing them with a wave of sand.

“Tears!” Nala said looking up at the flaming figure, its foot alone larger than their entire village as it walked across the dunes. Nala and Orel raced to get in front of it before it reached their team’s temporary camp.

“Please great spirit! Don’t be sad! How can we help you?!” Nala yelled up at the spirit.

“It won’t be able to hear you through all that cackling!” Orel yelled over the flames.

Just then the blue figure stopped walking. It took two paces backwards and looked down at Nala and Orel. Its features softened, but the sadness remained. The figure bent down on one knee and lowered its hands, placing the sandbender at their feet. “Help me,” it said in a thundering yet melodic voice, before vanishing completely with a wave of heat.

Nala and Orel looked down at the closed eyes.

Orel bent down and pulled down the mask. It was a woman!

“Daddy, why didn’t she burn in the arms of the thing?” Nala asked.

Orel pulled off the woman’s hood. Her hair was blue, and still glowing. “Because she IS the fire,” Orel gasped. The woman whimpered then fell still again. Orel reached for her canteen, but it was empty. “NALA! GET HER WATER!” Orel ordered his daughter. The girl sprinted.

“Please come back to us, Miss. At least to drink,” Orel begged holding the canteen to her lips. Her eyes fluttered only slightly. He poured water into her mouth and heard her swallow before falling limp again.

“We need to get her back to the village! She needs healing!” Orel yelled. The Father and Daughter packed up their things, put out their bonfire and left on their sandsailer.

“Stay with us, okay, Desert Lady,” Orel said putting up the woman’s hood again, hiding her mysteriously blue hair while Nala bent the sand to propel them through the desert night air.

* * *

In the village pub, men were laughing.

“Can you believe Orel and his kid?” one sandbender asked, laughing.

“What were they thinking, going after that thing?” a second added.

“Probably got ‘emselves burnt to a crisp!” a third one suggested.

“Hey guys! Orel’s back! And he and Nala’ve brought somebody!” the village caller announced in the pub.

“Huh?!” everyone rushed outside.

“Out of the way! She needs the herbalist. She’s not well!” Orel yelled carrying the woman to the herbalist after parking his sandsailer just outside their small village.

“Back off!” Nala yelled at someone who got too close, bending a wall between them with a stomp of her foot.

“Nala, we don’t want the herbalist to have to heal him too. Be gentle,” Orel reminded his passionate daughter. They went to the healing hut.

“We just found her in the dunes,” Orel lied, laying the woman down on the mat in the herbalist’s healing hut.

“Found? Or was she given to you?” the herbalist asked.

“Huh?” Orel turned to Nala.

“We could see that creature stand all the way from here, and we could see it bend down again,” the herbalist said.

“But that’s sixty miles away!”

“It must have been a powerful being then. Now, let me see her,” the herbalist said.

Orel let go of the Desert Lady.

The herbalist first unwrapped her head and gasped. “Her hair!”

“We know,” Orel replied kneeling.

“We think she IS the fire spirit or created that blazing thing!” Nala said.

“But she’s human,” the herbalist argued. “Not even a firebender could create something so large.”

“Maybe she is the Avatar,” Nala suggested.

“Avatar Aang is still alive, silly,” Orel replied.

“Oh, right,”

“If you will please turn away, Orel, for her sake,” the herbalist asked untying the woman’s belt.

The herbalist reached to pull the woman’s tunic off but flinched back.

“Her skin is burning!” the herbalist exclaimed. “I don’t know how her body could be at such a temperature and not die of overheating.”

“I told you! she IS the fire spirit!” Nala groaned rolling her eyes.

“Go get me some water. We need to cool her down,” Nala ran.

They put a wet blanket over her, changing it every hour to cool her down. She didn’t respond or open her eyes. They could touch her but only if their hands were wrapped. They sat her up every so often. She could swallow when they poured water down her throat, but otherwise, couldn’t move at all. Her arms and legs were weakened.

“I’d say she hasn’t eaten in at least five days,” the herbalist said removing the now hot wet blanket and dunking it in a tub of water to rinse out.

Nala kneeled by the nearly naked woman laying still in chest bindings and underwear.

“Her hair is still blue,” Nala commented with a furrowed brow.

“That I don’t know what to do about. I’ve never seen it on anybody, have you?”

Nala shook her head.

“At least it’s darker,” the herbalist noted.

It was darker. Nala reached out to touch it. She could feel the air get warmer, closer to the woman’s body.

“Nala! Be careful! She’s still incredibly hot!” the herbalist barked. Nala flinched back and kept her distance, watching the woman breathing.

“Her skin is so pale,”

“She’s probably foreign born,”

“But why would she be out here all alone? Daddy never lets ME go out alone!” Nala asked folding her arms.

“That’s because you’re only ten, Nala. When you’re about twenty, maybe he’ll reconsider,” the herbalist told the girl. On the third day, curiosity consumed the village and while the herbalist went to get more supplies, almost everybody peeked in to get a glimpse of the mysterious blue-haired desert lady.

“She’s a human being! Not an exhibit!” Nala said fighting her way in.

“Not fair you get to go in and we don’t!”

“Yes it is! I found her with my Dad while you cowards just ran away from her flames!” Nala said stomping her foot, creating a rock wall in place of the curtains hung over the entryway.

“Don’t worry, Desert Lady, I won’t leave again. School can wait,” Nala said reaching out to touch the woman’s hand. It was still really warm, but at least it didn’t burn her. Nala smiled. The herbalist let Nala stay with the Desert Lady as often as she liked, even spending the night sometimes, until one evening, someone came to the healing hut.

“Huh? Who’s there?” Nala called.

A tall, masked sandbender entered the hut.

“Heard rumors of a beautiful blue haired lady here,” the man said.

“She’s not a statue! Leave!” Nala yelled standing up, spreading her arms out trying to block his view of the Desert Lady.

The sandbender grabbed Nala by her night shirt. “If you value your life, and your childhood, you’ll leave,” the sandbender said. Nala gulped. He turned and threw her towards the door of the healing hut.

Nala breathed heavily as the man bent down to remove the wet blanket curiously. Nala scanned the room looking for a weapon of sorts. She’d never used her sandbending for combat and didn’t think it would be of any use in this situation. Then she saw something bright, something glowing, and she realized it was the Desert Lady’s hair.

“Huh?” the sandbender gasped, dropping the corner of the blanket. Just then, there was a flash of white light and a blue, semi-translucent dragon appeared. It was a small dragon, but it lashed out at the sandbender catching his clothes on fire. He stumbled back towards the door screaming. Nala grabbed the bucket of water used to heat the blankets and poured it on the man. She didn’t like him, but she didn’t want to see him burn alive either.

The fires went out, but his shoulders and part of his back was already black and blistering.

Nala winced as the man ran off, cursing under his breath. Nala turned and found herself face to face with a tiny dragon, feeling the heat of its body.

It seemed to smell her, then took a few paces back, curling its long body around the Desert Lady.

Nala took one more hard look at it and then ran to wake the herbalist.

“Goodness!” the herbalist gasped as the dragon rested its chin on the blanket, not burning it, and closed its eyes.

“I hope it didn’t make her heat up again.

“Please, um… dragon spirit, we’re friendly. We mean only _peace_. We want to help your _lady_!” Nala said approaching it again. It sniffed her and snarled and then vanished.

The glow went away, but the blue didn’t.

“It was like a defense,” the herbalist commented.

Three days later, she opened her eyes. Nala was mashing some grain to powder for a bread the herbalist was planning on making later that day.

“Where am I?” the Desert Lady asked.

Nala’s eyes lit up. Her voice was SOOOOO pretty!

The Desert Lady gasped when she realized she wasn’t clothed, groping herself for her belongings, and then touching her still blue hair. It stopped darkening around a royal blue. “Where are my things?”

“Shhhh!!!” Nala said rushing over. “Your things are here! You were overheating! We had to use wet blankets to cool you down. You’re better now, right? Here, drink! And you must be starving!”

The Desert lady accepted the cup, lifting it to her lips with such a delicate and soft grip. Nala could see her ribs.

“How long have I been here?” the Desert Lady asked.

“We came in about 8 sooooo… fifteen and two thirds of a day,” Nala answered.

“What?!” the Desert Lady shrieked.

“Nala! Have you-” the herbalist froze when she saw the Desert Lady sitting.

“Oh!” the Desert Lady too fell by her side.

“Is she drinking?” the herbalist asked Nala. Nala nodded furiously.

“Drink more, you were SO dehydrated! I don’t know how you survived!” the herbalist said raising the cup to the Desert Lady’s lips again.

“Can you please explain to me what this place is?” the Desert lady asked handing the empty cup back, opening her eyes and looking up at the herbalist.

The herbalist leapt back. “Fire Nation!”

The Desert Lady winced at the exclamation as if she had just been hit.

“I’m sorry! It’s been over thirty five years since the end of the war, and considering your age, you hold no responsibilities for the atrocities your nation committed then. Forgive me,” the herbalist said, bowing.

“It’s alright, I’m used to the hate,” the Desert Lady said, sadly accepting another cup of water from Nala. “So what is this place?”

“The healing hut in our village,” Nala answered.

“Are you a healer?” the Desert Lady, inquired noting the herbalist’s green eyes and not blue ones like most of the healers from the Water Tribes.

“I am an herbalist.”

“Ah… And how did I get here and why am I without clothing?” the Desert Lady asked.

“You mean to say, you don’t remember?” the herbalist asked.

“I know I collapsed in the desert. I remember feeling angry, and I remember seeing flames engulf me, and then, nothing.”

“Orel said a blue Fire Monster carried you to him and his daughter, Nala,” the herbalist said motioning to the girl. “Then the monster vanished.”

“A blue fire monster?” the Desert Lady asked just as bewildered as they were when they first saw it rise up into the sky.

“At first we thought it was a spirit since it was so big that we could see it from the village sixty miles away. The great outer wall of Ba Sing Se would have come up only to its knee. And It was… crying… Then, Orel and Nala thought you might be the spirit since, well… your hair turned the same color as the blue fire monster. Orel also thought you were hurt, so I took off your clothes and checked for any damage. There was none other than dehydration and starvation, and decided to keep you anyways since you also burned to touch. We’ve been trying to cool you down. Your hair started darkening and you did cool off until some ass tried to come and rape you in the night. But the blue fire monster returned to protect you, only this time it took the form of a little dragon. We exiled the man from the village for attacking you and the little dragon went away and your hair began to darken again though, it is still a little blue--”

“What?” the Desert Lady asked trying to find her reflection in something. “Where are my belongings?!” she demanded.

There was certain authority in her voice that made Nala spring into action, sliding over the mess of wrappings.

The Desert lady pulled out a knife that was painted black with a red stripe leaving only the steel blade part smooth and shiny.

“Woah!” both Nala and the Herbalist gasped at the sight of the blade.

The Desert Lady’s brows tilted downward with the same sadness Nala saw in the giant Blue Fire Monster. “I don’t understand,” She said with shaking arms, dropping the knife, covering it with one hand.

“Are you a spirit that accidentally crossed over from the other world?” the herbalist asked.

“Are you stuck here?” Nala added.

This only confused the Desert Lady even more.

“What? No! At least…I don’t think I am,” the Desert Lady said grabbing a lock of hair and inspecting the blue end with her pale hand. “This has never happened before… It’s like… a legend or something impossible to believe,” the Desert Lady said with disbelief.

# The Library

"Aunt Jia! Your delivery!" A young boy said entering the tent. He gasped when he saw the legendary "Desert Lady" sitting up.

"She's awake!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "Can I go tell Orel? He'll want to know!"

"Yes, Feng," the herbalist answered quickly.

"Feng is a Fire Nation name," the Desert Lady thought aloud.

"The boy is half Fire Nation,"

"Ah."

* * *

"Thank the spirits you're okay!" Orel exclaimed with relief upon entering, kneeling beside the young woman who now wore a loose, thin tunic over her thin body. "Do you feel any pain?"

"None at all, thank you. The herbalist told me all you've done for me," the Desert Lady said.

"Daddy look! Her eyes are SOOOOO pretty!" Nala said kneeling behind the Desert Lady peeling her face back, and prying opening her eyelids.

"NALA!" Both Orel and the herbalist screamed forcing Nala to let go. The Desert Lady rubbed her face a moment, a little dazed by the sudden turn of events.

"Sorry, Miss,..." Orel said flushed with embarrassment.

"What's your name?" Nala asked the Desert Lady.

"My name," the Desert Lady paused. Should she say?

Orel noted her apprehension. "A woman's past is her past, Nala. She does not need to tell us her name if she doesn't want to."

"Oh," Nala sighed. "Well, can we call you Sara?"

"Sure," the Desert Lady shrugged.

"Are must be hungry too, then, Sara? You've been unconscious for more than two weeks!"

"So I've been told," the Desert Lady looked devastated.

"Do you have a family that you need help getting back to?" Orel asked.

* * *

_Family? She thought of her son. He was so young. He needed her there! Her expedition in the desert was supposed to last at most one week before checking in again at an embassy. And she got lost and spent three days in the desert before collapsing. And then more than two weeks here? Her father must have sent out search parties. No wait! They wouldn't. It reveal her to be missing and that would raise a panic in the Nation. The Princess and her husband missing? No. Her parents would just cope. They knew her. She will return... eventually._

* * *

"I have to get back!" The Desert Lady yelled standing up before falling again.

"You're weak! But don't feel guilty! Please. Being immobile for so long has caused your muscles to atrophy some! You'll need to grow back your strength slowly before you can go anywhere!" the herbalist said catching her.

"Let us help you, Miss, please!" Orel begged.

The Desert Lady was panting. Exhausted after just trying to stand and still not succeeding.

"Alright," she relented reluctantly..

"Would you mind coming to live with us? That way the healing hut is free for others," Nala asked eagerly.

"Sure, Whatever is easiest. I don't want to impose on anybody," the Desert Lady answered politely. She glanced back in the mirror. "I should probably cover up again," she thought seeing her blue hair in the reflection of a copper tray on a table.

"Don't bother! Everyone already knows you're here!" Nala said taking the Desert Lady's hand that her father wasn't holding.

"Everyone?" the Desert Lady asked with a bit of terror evident on her beautiful face.

"Yeah. They paraded through one day when I was at school. Some even brought gifts because they thought you were an angry spirit. I knew you were just a lady though, because I saw the fire monster crying."

"Crying?"

* * *

_Because if I cried, I would lose more water. So my inner fire cried for me,_ Izumi realized.

* * *

They passed by several clay and stone huts and dwellings. A few wells. And then a nice large square with a rather small city hall. Orel supported the Desert Lady as she walked slowly.

"Look! Someone even painted you on a mural!" Nala said pointing at a wall.

The painting was of a really tiny village, some sand dunes, and a blue fiery form, proportionally, at least a hundred feet tall.

"It's surreal," the Desert Lady said as they passed it, slowly on their way to Nala and Orel's house.

"Maaa! The Desert Lady is going to live with us for a while!" Nala announced loudly.

"Oh wonderful! Oh woah!" a big bosomed sandbender exclaimed joyfully, rushing into the entryway to take the Desert Lady from Orel.

"She said we can call her Sara!" Nala informed her mother.

"Well it is nice to finally meet you, Sara! I am Vira, Nala's mom. Welcome to our home. It's not much, but, we make do," the woman said sweetly.

"Nice to meet you too," the desert lady replied, touching her pounding head with a grimace.

"Nala, we should let Sara rest for the remainder of the day. It was a long walk from Aunt Jia's Healing Hut."

Sara sat down at the kitchen table and immediately put her head down, exhausted.

"Her hair IS blue," Vira whispered to Orel in the kitchen.

"I told you!"

"And she is from the Fire Nation! Did you see her eyes? They're like a golden-tangerines!" Nala exclaimed in awe of everything about this lady.

"What is a Fire Nation girl doing all the way out here?" Vira asked.

"I don't know," Orel replied.

"And alone?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Each day, they walked a little longer, a little farther. Every other day, Nala and Orel went hunting for desert crawlers with the other hunters of the village while the Desert Lady stayed with Vira.

"Please, let me help you," the Desert Lady asked Vira, entering the kitchen."

"No, you're still healing!"

"I can handle kneading some dough or stirring badder or chopping," the Desert Lady said. "It is the least I can do for you as thanks for your hospitality."

"Alright, here, you can do the chopping while I do the dough. I'm very particular about how I knead my doughs. Maybe I will teach you some day," Vira said flashing a smile.

The Desert Lady returned it. "Thank you, for everything."

* * *

_Izumi was snooping again. She found a whole set of those knives in the top drawer of her mother's dresser. They were beautifully crafted, razor sharp, and painted red and black. She was about to touch the sharp edge when she saw the same colors fly past her face and pin her wrists to the dresser drawer where she found them, causing her to drop the blade. She looked up, her heart racing to see her mother standing across the room, looking at her curiously._

" _Even the dull ones would slice right through your soft skin at that little touch, my love. I had to," Mai said walking over to free her daughter's wrists. "Forgive me," she added._

_Izumi looked up in awe._

" _So the stories are true!"_

" _What stories?"_

" _The stories that Aunt Katara and Uncle Sokka tell me about you!" Izumi replied. "About your perfect aim!"_

" _Yes they're true."_

" _Is it true that you taught yourself how to throw out of boredom?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Could you teach me too?!" Izumi asked._

_Mai turned to her daughter. "Why do you even want to learn? You're a firebender," Mai asked._

" _But what if somebody chi-blocks me like aunt Ty Lee and I can't bend anymore! How will I protect myself?!" Izumi asked._

_Mai sighed. "Alright, I will teach you. But we will start with darts, not knives, and you actually have to practice. It is a very dangerous skill. If your aim is just a hair off your target, you BOTH could be killed," Mai said. She pulled out a sharp dart from her sleeve and handed it to Izumi. "We start tomorrow."_

_Izumi gasped and took the dart, holding the point down carefully._

" _Don't bend it, lose it, or cut yourself or else we will end training," Mai told her._

_Izumi nodded furiously._

* * *

The Desert Lady took the chopped vegetables and slid them off the cutting board into a dish for a salad, glancing at herself in the blade of the knife. Her hair was still blue, and not darkening. She couldn't possibly travel back to the Fire Nation looking like this. They'd call her a monster or an abomination.

"Do you have much experience with firebenders?" the Desert Lady asked Vira..

"No, Miss Sara. You are the first I have ever met before, and I must say I am quite impressed. Why do you ask?"

"Because last time I checked, my hair was black and I want to know how to change it back," the Desert Lady replied.

"I am afraid I don't know, sweetie," Vira said sadly.

"Didn't there used to be a library out here?" the Desert Lady asked. "Wan Shi Tong's Library? Do you think it might have the answers I seek?"

"I always thought that thing was just a legend but some claim the Avatar went with his friends in 100AG. If the latter is true, then the library is gone because, as rumor has it, the southern water tribe boy in the Avatar's group angered the great guardian of the library who returned it to the spirit world. If the former is true, then it never existed in the first place."

"The spirit world," the desert lady said to herself quietly

"What are you thinking, Miss. Sara?" Vira asked.

"Just that, My uncle was able to meditate into the spirit world. I wonder if I could too," the Desert Lady answered.

"I suppose it is possible, if you believe in that kind of thing," Vira shrugged skeptically, placing the dough in the oven.

* * *

Izumi found herself in an eerily dark part of the spirit world. Her bending was gone, just as Aang had told her would happen when she was just a girl. Naturally, she would have to walk to find what she was seeking.

Just then, something flew overhead. She ducked. When she looked up again, a massive, menacing, winged spirit looked down at her with hunger in its eyes.

"Please, I come seeking peace," she said bowing to the spirit, touching her head to the ground. The spirit said nothing. "I have come in search of Wan Shi Tong's Library."

"Seeking peace? Not bringing it?" the Winged Spirit asked.

"How could I hope to bring peace to anyone when my own mind fraught with turmoil and confusion?" Izumi asked the spirit looking up miserably.

The spirit nodded in understanding and turned, revealing the library hanging upside down in the sky, it's highest spire just barely touching ground. It was overgrown with what looked like roots sprouting out of the sky.

"Thank you!" Izumi called to the winged spirit as it sailed away. As soon as the princess climbed up through the window, the gravity flipped, so she could walk normally. The grand atrium was more beautiful than any thing she'd ever seen in all four kingdoms.

"Humans are not welcome here!" she heard a low voice growl followed by the flapping of great wings. Izumi flattened herself against the ground as the great owl-snake flew towards her, cracking the ground just before her with its beak. "ESPECIALLY YOUR race of human!" the great spirit sat said looking down at her with wise, unforgiving eyes.

"Please!" Izumi begged. "I come seeking only knowledge!" she said kneeling, touching her head to the ground as a sign of respect.

"LIAR! Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans, like that other firebender who sought to destroy the moon spirit, and that water tribe boy who sought to destroy YOU!"

"I am not like them, I swear. I am not trying to destroy anything and I am not lying! Even my Aunt once said that I am a terrible liar and that I should stop trying to learn. I just— I just want to know what I am! There's an entire sandbender tribe that thinks I am an angry fire spirit because apparently I conjured a giant blue fiery monster in the middle of nothing. But I can't remember any of it!

"I am confused and afraid. I just want to return home to my family, but I can't. My hair is blue and its not changing back! It will probably cause civil unrest and raise questions for which I have no idea how to answer. I have already disgraced my nation by displeasing my husband so much so that he's run away! I was trying to find him, and the desert was the last place we hadn't yet looked. I was only supposed to be gone a week, and ended up losing myself, as well, in more ways than one. Please, help me. I seek only peace and understanding, not destruction," Izumi vented. "I am not like the others in my country."

The spirit looked down on her skeptically.

"You are great, all-knowing spirit. I know you have the ability to look within my soul and see that I am truthful. So do it!" Izumi ordered impatiently with her head still bowed to the floor respectfully.

"Hm… very well. I will let you peruse my vast collection, under one condition. You must contribute some worthwhile knowledge," the spirit said.

_Knowledge. What piece of knowledge could I possibly give to a spirit who knows ten thousand things?_

The owl waited patiently, reading the girl's emotions, expressions, shaking limbs, and her being. She was truly frightened and completely…pure in her intentions and motivations. There was something in here that he hadn't seen in thousands of years at least.

"There's a relatively new bending art," Izumi said finally.

"I know of metalbending already," Wan Shi Tong said.

"It's a subskill of a subskill dubbed 'Dark Lightning.' It is a technique used to paralyze your opponent temporarily by overstimulating the synapses in their nervous and muscular systems or halting the signalling completely. It leaves no markings on the body. Only trauma on the brain and a memory of the fear of pain of losing control of our own body,"

"And how did you obtain knowledge of this bending art?" Wan Shi Tong asked the young lady.

"My husband did it to me, once," Izumi confessed nervously.

Wan Shi Tong could hear a fear in her voice when she recalled that memory. "Rise, human," the great owl-snake ordered. "You may roam freely."

Izumi let out a sigh of relief and walked past him steadily, wondering if it would do her well to ask him immediately for the section on firebending. She decided against it, not wanting to further pester the great beast. And began searching aisle after aisle for a section on firebending… or something fire related...

The Fire Nation section had been torched.

"Why?" she fell to her knees with a feeling of complete devastation washing over her being.

 _Your ancestors did this!_ a voice yelled in her head.

"But I am not my ancestors!" she yelled out at nothing with her eyes shut. "I am not just a flame," she cried. She opened her eyes and dipped her hand in the ashes that remained. She swept them aside to reveal the beautiful marble floors underneath. She saw her own reflection in these. Her hair was glowing again.

"Stop it already!" she screamed tugging at her blue locks, falling onto her back writhing on the ground in a confused agony, getting ash all over her tan sandbender clothes.

She stopped crying and looked up at the ornate ceiling of the grand library. _Why couldn't I be born into the Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom? Even the Foggy Swamp life would have been better than this!_ she thought to herself miserably. _Why do I have to born in one of the most violent and hated of the four nations? And why the Royal Family?_

Just then Izumi felt a rough but slimy tongue lick away the tears on her face. She screamed and rolled to the side. "Oh! It's just a knowledge seeker," She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the fox-like creature and ran her fingers through her glowing blue hair.

It motioned for her to follow.

Izumi hesitated at first before standing and followed it into the shadowy halls of the torched Fire Nation section.

"I can't see!" Izumi said to the knowledge seeker, beginning to worry. As the fear intensified with each step, her hair lit up, casting a dim blue light on the room. She looked up at it. _Well I guess that's convenient._

Finally they arrived at a massive door in the shape of a flame. The knowledge seeker motioned to a part on the wall beside a door shaped like a hand.

"I can't firebend into it. There's no bending in the spirit world unless I came through a portal that's been closed for ten thousand years and still is as far as I know," Izumi reminded the knowledge seeker.

The knowledge seeker nodded and motioned to it again.

Izumi raised her hand to it anyways and closed her eyes. It is not like she had anything to lose here in the spirit world. There was a low rumbling sound and the door slid open. The knowledge seeker ran forward and flicked a switch somewhere in the room igniting a a large fire in the center of the circular space. Carvings of dragons and humans decorated the columns and ceilings of this completely in-tact section of the Fire Nation part of the library.

"Why was it closed off?" Izumi asked.

The knowledge seeker didn't speak but pulled out a book on a low shelf and offered it to her.

"The First Masters," Izumi read aloud.

On the cover of the book was a tiny man carved into the leather, flanked by what looked like giant feet on fire. It was like the villager's mural painting of her!

Izumi opened it and saw similar drawings of tiny men followed by massive fiery 'monsters'.

"Year 89341 B.F.H.C," Izumi read. "What is B.F.H.C?" the knowledge seeker tugged on her sleeve with its mouth. She stood and followed it. "Wait! Can I take this book out of this closed section? It must be restricted for a reason! I don't want to get in trouble with your master!"

The knowledge seeker grabbed her sleeve and kept pulling. "I suppose you'll put it back again then, once I am through reading," Izumi decided, taking the book with her.

They came to a room that Izumi recognized from Uncle Sokka's stories of the great library. It was a celestial calendar with archaic names for months weeks and days. Izumi started turning the dial to match the date on the page.

Decades passed, then centuries passed, then a millenia, then another, then another. Izumi looked up. There was no sun. "An eclipse?" the fox turned one dial and one planet of their solar system slid out. "Harmonic Convergence?" Izumi realized. "BFHC… Before the first harmonic convergence?" she looked back at the book."89341 BEFORE the FIRST harmonic convergence? Did they even have written language then?

The knowledge seeker jumped up on her and flipped a few pages.

"Written and recorded by Avatar Kihira of the Eastern Fire Islands in the year 203 AFHC with assistance of Avatar Norikanu 89742-89251 BFHC," Izumi read. "But only one avatar can live at any given time. Wait! Did this fire avatar connect with her past lives to write histories?" Izumi realized suddenly. The knowledge seeker nodded.

"I get it now! That makes so much sense!" Izumi exclaimed. She moved around a few days to get the sun back, then sat down in the celestial calendar room, and started reading with the knowledge seeker curled up by her side ready to try to answer any more questions.

The Princess read about dragons and lion turtles and firebenders.

"Okay, I don't understand, again" Izumi said hopelessly to the Knowledge Seekers. "The Zhi Tribe made these firey monsters to conquer the Congs?"

The Knowledge Seeker turned a few more pages.

Izumi read it back again. "No, they were not monsters, they were the tribesmen. It was their inner fire walking around in the world… What is that supposed to mean?... I have to give up my firebending just to turn my hair back? I just have to 'let it out'?" Izumi asked.

The fox perched its front paws on Izumi's knees and touched its nose to her forehead.

* * *

Izumi closed her eyes and stood before a scene of people in really old clothing she had only ever seen in some boxes in the Dragon Bone Catacombs when she and Masaru went exploring. "We don't want to fight! We just want peace," General Zhi yelled, flanked by those flaming feet. Izumi looked up and saw a giant red flaming form of the general.

"Then don't fight and just leave our village!" General Cong replied angrily.

"But we cannot let your practice of subjugation of the less powerful tribes to continue! It is wrong to enslave the smaller tribes simply because they are less advanced and less organized!"

"Aren't you trying to do exactly that to us now? Subjecting us to _your_ rule?"

"When we are through establishing peace throughout the nation, we will not control your every move. Only stop you from feeding the people of what you call the unworthy villages to your dragons!" Zhi yelled. "You don't deserve the power of the dragon!".

"And you do?" Cong yelled lighting his fists on fire.

Zhi remained with his arms by his sides, palms out, proving he carried no weapons.

"Yes, we do. So much so that the dragons granted us their power directly," Zhi said. He looked up and the flaming form of himself bent down and picked up General Cong. Kong bent a red sphere to keep distance between himself and the flaming hand. When Zhi looked down again, his hair was glowing red.

"We seek only peace, citizens of the Cong Empire." Zhi said holding up is enemy general for both armies to see. "This man has been kidnapping your women and children and feeding them to his dragons to try to maintain their support in this pointless battle for nothing. He has lost faith in his own armies so much that he relies solely on these beloved creatures of worship to comprise his fighting force. He has been blaming the disappearance of your loved ones on us. But we are not abductors. Join me and as long as I live, you will never have to dig another mine again, you will never have to lay a rail, your beloved children will _never_ go missing, and you all, will be free. Do not fear my inner fire standing above me, for it is simply my life. All fire is life and not destruction no matter the lies Cong has been telling. Fire does not swell from rage or hate. It is none other than passion and love. My inner fire is the source of my will to spread such love, and peace throughout my nation and all others, so join me and you too, can grow and thrive, and someday, maybe even be able to bend your own inner fire out into the world to make another protector of the peace. Let us unite under a common flame, another passion, and free ourselves from tyranny. Free ourselves from the cages we lock ourselves in and the limitations and traditions that make us tear at our skin, it is time for a new era of development and exploration."

The scene dissolved and they were in a village, the Zhis and the Congs were both there. Adults were talking, merchants trading, and children chasing each other in the streets. Izumi took a few paces forward. She looked inside a school just as a teacher rang the dismissal bell. Before the children came thundering out, small flaming animals of all colors emerged. Green flaming dragonfly-rabbits, pig-chickens, even turtle-ducks ran out of the school house followed by the children. They were like pets.

"Hey! Take it back!" one child yelled at another.

"No! You deserved it!" the other child yelled.

The first child's green fire dragonfly-rabbit attacked.

The second child's koala-sheep intercepted and the flames fought between them for dominance while the children remained completely unharmed, watching in awe as their passions fought for them, keeping them safe and defending their own ideals, whatever they had been before the argument.

"Stop!" the teacher ordered storming out with a red flaming dragon breaking up the two small animals.

"You are still both fire spirits! You are still both brothers and sisters. You are family! You cannot keep fighting!"

"Why not?" one child asked stomping his foot as his koala-sheep stepped between his legs.

"Yeah! Why not?" the other demanded folding her arms as her dragonfly-rabbit landed on her shoulder.

"Because... the earthbenders are coming," the teacher said gravely. "And if we are too busy squabbling amongst ourselves, we will all PERISH!" the teacher yelled.

The children glanced at each other, their little flaming animals shrinking in fear. There was a low rumbling in the distance as the sound of thundering armies echoed through the mountainous region.

* * *

"Sara! Sara! Wake up! The bandits are coming!" Nala said shaking the Desert Lady's Shoulder. "SARAAAA!"

* * *

Izumi looked up at the clear sky hearing a distant yet vaguely familiar voice of a child.

"SARAAAAA!" the child cried. Terror filled her voice.

Izumi looked around. Nobody else saw it. Then she looked down and saw the knowledge seeker by her side. She was in somebody's memory. Its memory!

"I have to go!" Izumi said bending down, wrapping her hands around the neck of the fox-like spirit.

She stood up in the celestial calendar room and ran, following the knowledge seeker to the grand atrium. Izumi looked up at the turret. How was she going to get out that window without a change in the gravity? She began pacing, panicking. The knowledge seeker whimpered.

"WHAT?!" she yelled. She froze when she saw the fear in its eyes. "No! I'm sorry! I'm not like that. I am just really stressed right now and I need to find a way to get out. The girl that rescued me from the Si Wong Desert, I think she is in trouble! I have to help. Those villagers saved me and now bandits are raiding them. I have to protect the peace!"

Then Izumi remembered her conversation with her father. She couldn't establish peace for others unless she first established it within herself! She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and tried to slow her heart down. If she could meditate into the spirit world, maybe she could meditate out of it too.


	15. Identity

The Desert Lady opened the eyes and saw fire outside the window of Nala’s bedroom.

“What happened?” Izumi asked.

“The bandits came!”

“And they’re just burning up the place? Why?” Izumi asked.

“Sara, there is no time for questions like that! We must flee!” Orel yelled.

“No! I won’t run! This is your home! We have to defend it! I have to defend it especially after all you and your village has done for me! You don’t deserve to to be uprooted for no good reason! You’ve done nothing!” Izumi yelled. She jumped out the window walking down a burning street, taking the heat in and putting out the flames with her firebending.

_Fire is not destruction. It is life. It is passion. A will for love for peace. It is warmth and safety. It is me!_

The sandbenders stopped packing as the legendary blue-haired Desert Lady made her way to the square where the bandits centered their looting operation.

“Leave this tribe alone!” the Desert Lady yelled.

The masked bandits laughed. “And what are you going to do to stop us?”

“Whatever I need to,” the Desert Lady replied holding her hands by her side, palms out.

The bandits looked at each other and laughed.

“You’ve nothing.”

“Yeah, this could be fun!”

Izumi danced around them, evading their weapons and extinguishing any fire they created.

“Fight back you coward, fight back!” the bandit yelled, enraged.

“No! I don’t want a fight. I want peace,” the Desert Lady insisted.

The sandbenders ignored her and kept fighting.

“Why are you resorting to stealing?” the Desert Lady asked. _Focus. Prove to them we are all on the same side. Remind them that we are all just humans with the same basic needs. Maybe they can find a commonality with the villagers here. Maybe they could establish a treaty of sorts?_

In that moment, a bandit struck her and threw her back several yards. Her side hurt, but she would not give up. She kicked up spinning on her hands and created a ring of blue fire around her.

Only two people in the world had blue fire. Azula of the Fire Nation, and Crowned Princess Izumi!

The bandits shrunk back in horror.

“No!” Izumi extinguished the fire. “I am sorry. I didn’t want to fight you. I still don’t want to fight you, and I don’t want to defeat you, even if it would be the easiest thing to do,” Izumi said walking towards the bandits with bright blue hair, glowing again. Calm down Izumi. You don’t want people to be afraid of you! Think of the General Zhi!

The bandit ran.

“Wait! I want to help you!”

“They’re bandits, Sara!” Nala yelled. “They don’t deserve your help!”

Izumi tackled the man running from her. “Maybe they do. Just think! People don’t raid villages for no reason. Clearly they’re dissatisfied about something, and maybe I can help!” Izumi explained. “Where do you come from, bandit?” She asked. “Is your village short of food or water? Is your family sick or something?” Izumi asked the man.

“You monster!” he spat at her feet.

“How could I be monster?” Izumi asked, haughtily.

“You’re the Fire Princess Izumi! Your great great grandfather torched the Air Temples, then your great grandfather torched the Southern Water Tribe, and then your grandfather torched the earth kingdom—“

Izumi’s eye twitched with fury. “THEY ARE NOT ME AND THEN MY FATHER ENDED THE WHOLE THING!” She yelled loudly and clearly, silencing him. She turned away from him. “And yet you call me the monster when I haven’t even had the chance to prove my being. I am not Sozin! I am not Azulon! And am not Ozai! I am Princess Izumi, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai, and heir to the throne. I have never torched anything but one communications room, and my best friend’s creme brulee one night at a party when he made me angry. And I have certainly never torched anyone in my life.

“No matter how much I want to torch you right now, I won’t, because I am not like the others who came before me. I don’t care for power or domination. I seek only peace and understanding of myself and my world around me and will do whatever is necessary to achieve that for my nation and those of all the other nations all over the world! Look at yourself, bandit. And then look around you. YOU are the one who instigated the torching of this village, not me. YOU are the one who is no better than the monster, Sozin, and the other Fire Lords of old.” Izumi said loudly and clearly in a steadfast, voice fit for a Queen, no, not queen, a Fire Lord.

The entire village gathered around, mouths gaping at the blue-haired Desert Lady. With each silent second that passed, her hair became darker until it was black again. Only then did everyone recognize the princess that had appeared in newspapers all over the word and believe she was really her.

“What brought the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation to the Si Wong Desert?” the bandit asked still in disbelief.

“I was searching for someone. Someone I was supposed to care for, who was supposed to care for me, someone that made me incredibly angry. I wanted to hurt him, but I understand now that such a final and pointless action would accomplish nothing. Neither of us were happy when we were together, but apart, maybe at least we could find peace,” Izumi said looking down at the ground.

Izumi drew one of her throwing blades and the crowd stepped back.

“Nala,” she taking a step towards the girl who saved Izumi with help from her father.

The girl ran over, meeting her halfway. “Yes, Princess?”

“If you ever need help, here with your village or here,” she pointed at the girl. “with yourself, go to a Fire Nation Embassy and show them this and ask for Ziyuan. If they try to take it from you, just twist the blade and it will cut them, but they will let you through.

“And you,” Izumi turned to the bandit she tackled. She flipped another blade out of her sleeve. “In case you and your comrades are willing to end this cycle of destruction, violence, and poverty,” She said handing him the blade with the handle pointed towards him while looking up at the burning roofs.

“I don’t understand, how can a princess of the Fire Nation not want to conquer everything? How could anyone in the Fire Nation not want to conquer with their fire power?” the bandit asked.

“Because this princess understands that fire alone is not power. It is energy, and energy gives life,” Izumi said.


	16. Return to the Fire Nation

Izumi looked up at the red buildings and golden roofs of the capital city on the Fire Nation's largest island, wondering just when and why the nations decided to color code their architecture and clothing and beginning to loathe the colors of her home country.

"Passport?" the customs officer asked.

Izumi looked up at him with her golden tangerine colored eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked with a tone of arrogance only used when intentionally intimidating somebody.

"Nobody enters the Fire Nation without a passport," the customs agent said. Izumi took her hand out from under the blanket that she draped over her head and shoulders and offered her hand to the customs agent. He reached into it to find it empty. Then she closed her fingers around his hand.

Dark lightning. Bending the electricity in another's body, stunning him temporarily. And she walked through, discharging his body of the excess energy from a few yards away.

He watched her go, too frightened to even call security. She wondered how many others knew of this skill. Hisoki and Azula were the only people she had ever seen use it. It appeared her father had learned of the technique and could recognize its effects but was too cowardly to use it. Izumi on the other hand, would do anything to find peace for her nation, and for herself. If that included mastering dark lightning, then she would, and she did.

It was unusually cold this winter in the Fire Nation. As Izumi walked she warmed a little, but it was not still not enough. The Crown Princess looked down at her callused hands that her mother would certainly reprimand her for allowing to fall into such a state of disrepair. She sighed and uncurled her fingers and lit a red flame. Still… so… cold... So Izumi extinguished the flame, adjusted her blanket to ensure it completely covered every hair atop her head, and then opened her head again, closing her eyes for an instant, to light not just her hand, but her hair.

The Princess exhaled blue fire and continued all the way to the capital proper in the volcano and then the palace. Would she walk through the front doors or sneak in? Sneak into the palace and walk through the front doors of the throne room, she decided.

She followed the drains into the servants quarters, climbed out through the grills, walked from the kitchens down some eerily vacant halls and then to a busier part of the palace near the throne room wearing dark red and black traveling cloak, the blanket still over her head.

_Finally._

"Excuse me, Ma'am, the Fire Lord is currently in a private session," a guard said.

"Whoever is with him can wait," Izumi replied without showing her face. Both guards dipped into a fighting stance. She sighed. She tipped punching fire in the direction of one and kicking fire in the direction of the other, knocking both out cold. I should have them fired as soon as my presence is acknowledged and my authority is restored. They failed to protect my father from an intruder. They failed to protect him from me.

Izumi took a deep breath and kicked open both doors with a massive blast of blue fire and marched in lucky to find just her parents present, talking.

Zuko didn't recognize her at first, his vision obstructed by the red wall of flames.

Izumi slammed closed the doors behind her then discarded her blanket and kept marching forward. Zuko stood, lowering the wall of red fire to get a better look at her. Once she was exactly twenty feet away from the base of the throne, she got down on her knees and bowed, touching her head to the ground.

"Father, forgive me, for taking so long to return," she asked humbly. Zuko extinguished the flames just in front of the throne so he could walk through and towards her.

"Your hair," Zuko commented. Izumi opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the marble floors. She took a deep slow breath.

 _Peace. You are safe now, you are free_. She said in her head, making it slowly turn black again.

"Izumi?" Zuko asked, looking down at her. "Please rise."

She stood and looked at him.

Those golden tangerine colored eyes were certainly hers. "What happened?" he asked, touching her cheek just to verify it was really his daughter standing before him and not some cactus juice induced apparition. "Kei Lo said you disappeared in the desert; you were only supposed to spend a week in there and then report to the embassy in Ba Sing Se and you didn't!"

"It's kind of a long story… I kind of almost got sold into slavery and then ended up losing myself in more ways than one while wandering in the desert for three days before collapsing then spent over two weeks unconscious in some sandbender's healing hut and I discovered a new form of firebending," Izumi said.

"Changing your hair?"

"No, that's just a side effect to the real power, I would show you now, but it would destroy the entire palace," Izumi replied.

"A new power?"

"Apparently it is originated as some ancient defense mechanism that arose when one lost control of themselves after being in great fear and pain for a long period of time, or a very excruciating instant. It can be controlled but only by those with pure intentions who are at peace, or want peace within themselves and their surroundings."

"And how do you know this?"

"A knowledge seeker helped me," Izumi shrugged.

"A knowledge seeker?"

"In Wan Shi Tong's library,"

"But the library's gone! Avatar Aang said the great spirit recalled it after Sokka violated its purpose."

"I was able to meditate into the spirit world and find it. Great Uncle Iroh and Aunt Azula's teachings turned out useful after all for that kind of thing."

"Wow. And did you have any luck finding Hisoki?" Zuko asked genuinely surprised by his daughter's new ability. He always knew she was an extremely powerful bender but never expected her talents to extend into spiritual territory as well.

"No. I came to accept that perhaps he just doesn't want to be found and returned to the capital."

"It's been a year daughter, since he left."

"Your point?"

"I believe that is sufficient reason to believe that Hisoki's not going to coming back."

"What is that supposed to mean for us exactly?"

"It means _you_ are free to remarry," Mai answered with a heavy sigh, not wanting to have to watch her daughter go through so much pain again, but optimistic that they could work together, make a better selection, and possibly have a chance at happiness.

"Absolutely not! I will never again partake in such a humiliating ceremony," Izumi refused adamantly, frowning.

"The Fire Sages are getting more and more impatient," Mai informed her daughter. "They say since you are physically able you must provide at least one more heir to the throne in case- just in case anything happens to the rest of us."

"I'm well aware of the necessity of having an heir and a spare, Mother, and I fully intend to have more children, but I am going to do so on my own terms and at this point, nobody can stop me," Izumi said, looking down at her callused hands then up at her parents again.

"You're going to go to Saru, aren't you?" Mai asked.

Izumi looked down at her hands. "I don't have a choice. He is the only option for this nation to survive. If I am to lead this country some day, and maintain peace, I must be able to maintain it in myself at the very least, or else I WILL become a monster. I learned in the desert that the only way I can control this fire inside myself is if I manage to keep myself in a constant state of relative peace. It was fear, hate, pain, and anger that unleashed my inner flame, and I don't want to hurt anybody. I cannot stand to be in a loveless marriage, Mother; therefore, Saru is my only chance of conceiving again."

"Izumi," Mai placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be safe."

The princess nodded. "But before I go anywhere, I need to see Iroh, my son."

* * *

The four-year-old looked up at the mother he hadn't seen for nearly a year. He didn't recognize her at first. Izumi set down her belongings, walked over to the vanity and brushed her hair. She gathered half of it and put it up in a familiar bun he would know and added a golden flame decoration then turned to her son and reached for him.

"Hello, Prince Iroh, do you remember me?" Izumi asked holding him. He hesitated at first, touching her neck then her face, inspecting this woman while Mai watched on. Then he bent over and rested his head on her chest just under her chin, hugging her while she swayed on her feet, rocking him.

Izumi's heart melted all over again. As she rocked him, already four years old in place. She let him sleep in her bed that night and woke up with his foot in her jaw. They woke up together, then Izumi personally washed and bathed her son for the day and dressed him for his lessons. She talked to him and listened to him babble as she did her hair and dabbed her lips with a little rouge.

He still played with dolls and soldiers, and still tied the girl to the post and still had the soldiers execute special rescue missions while the remainder of the female dolls were all piled between the pillows on his mother's bed.

"Why don't we mix things up a bit, shall we?" Izumi asked tying the soldier to the post of the bed and putting the doll in place of him in the war meeting. Iroh watched her looked up in confusion and fell over, his tiny mind blown.

"Women can fight too, you know Iroh, even if we look fragile," she said rubbing his hair off his forehead affectionately.

"But I never see you fight," Iroh replied.

"Oh you will. If you want, maybe your Great Aunt Azula will be willing to help me with a demonstration," Izumi suggested.

Iroh looked up at her in awe.

She held him in her lap at breakfast, even though he had been sitting in his own chair for the past year.

"Izumi, he will regress in his etiquette lessons if you don't have him sit properly," Zuko reminded the princess.

"He's four, Father, he can remain my lap child a little while longer, thank you," Izumi said feeding herself a spoonful of porridge then offering a smaller bite to Iroh who just opened his mouth and accepted.

"Zumi, a Prince should learn proper behavior from a young age so it becomes second nature," Mai reminded her.

"I will make that call on how young. He's MY son after all, and I don't want him to _suffer_ as I did," Izumi replied firmly, talking with her mouth full much to her parent's horror. Zuko sighed and shook his head. Mai said nothing more the rest of the meal.

* * *

That afternoon, Mai held Iroh back in the old Agni Kai chamber.

"Iroh thinks women are only good for being tied to posts and only men can be the ones to save them. I thought we'd put on a little demonstration to prove to him otherwise," Izumi said taking off her cloak so that she stood only in pants, and her bindings.

"Is this really necessary?" Zuko asked from one end of the room where his daughter and sister had tied him up as the damsel in distress.

"Oh Zuzu! Don't worry. I won't hurt your precious little baby, not anywhere visible at least!" Azula reassured the Fire Lord.

"Release my Father or face the wrath of my bending!" Izumi yelled, acting of course, but still very convincing.

"Bring it, dear niece!" Azula yelled back with a smirk spreading across her slightly sagging, yet still beautiful features. Mai watched as the two fought blue on blue. Occasionally, a couple of blue streaks flashed through Izumi's hair but darkened again quickly as she regained control of her consciousness. All she had to do to to control her power was find peace in her self. Izumi pushed forward then rolled under Azula's fire blast. She blocked, turned, and sliced the ropes binding her father with a fire whip. He ran to join her.

"Enough! You're outnumbered Aunt Azula!" Izumi yelled with a smirk.

"Oh no, you've caught me!" Azula said falling to the ground as Izumi and Zuko stood.

"See?" Izumi asked relaxing and walking over to her son. He was absolutely floored.

"Mama! Can I fight you next?" Young Iroh asked squirming out of Grandma Mai's lap.

"You want to fight me?" Izumi asked, glancing at her parents laughing.

"I can bend fire too!" he said creating a bunch of measly little red sparks and tiny flames extending about four inches from his knuckles.

"Okay," Izumi said leading him to the ring. "Don't worry, Father. I won't hurt my own baby!" She said to her anxious father.

"First we bow. Then we turn and face each other. Take your stance, Iroh," Izumi instructed her boy. Hm. So he had been receiving lessons while she was away.

"And fight!" Azula yelled. Izumi shot a small flame at her boy's feet. He jumped back and did a high arch kick managing to almost reach her face with a measly little flame. She bent back dramatically and did a sweep kick. He rolled forward and closed the gap between them and punched a flame straight up to her chin. She bent back and he hooked her ankle with his arms and lifted her foot when she wasn't looking making her fall on her back.

"Ow!" Izumi exclaimed falling on her tailbone.

Azula, Zuko and EVEN Mai couldn't help but to laugh.

"I must say daughter! You just got legitimately beaten in a duel against your four year old son!" Zuko laughed.

"Well done, Prince Iroh!" Azula congratulated.

"So I won't get beheaded for knocking down the crown princess?"

"Not in sparring practice," Azula confirmed. "Try that little trick anywhere else, and we'll have your little head, button nose and all!" Azula threatened, dabbing at his nose as he looked up in fear at her. Izumi pulled him into a hug from behind.

"Oh don't worry about them, Iroh! I'm proud of you. You're learning and that's all that matters right now. The specific formalities will come later," she said, kissing him in the cheek while he smiled, thinking back to herself at age four, sitting in etiquette lessons, receiving a cold glare from her mother for misbehaving, her father rarely there, consumed by his Fire Lord duties. She promised to never let that happen to Iroh.

_I will love him. I will love him to the world and back so he doesn't know the turmoil I had within me._

That second night back, Izumi read him the story of Oma and Shu and the Cave Of Two Lovers. The next night she read him 'Love Amongst the Dragons'. The fourth night, she told him the story of the great princess of the Northern Water Tribe who gave her life back to the Moon Spirit effectively saving the world. The fifth night she told him the story of a Princess of the Fire Nation, who got lost in a desert storm and decided to dedicate her life to spreading love and peace to all classes and all countries not through war and submission, but through diplomacy.

"That last story is about you, isn't it? You're that Princess aren't you, Mommy?" Iroh asked in his beautiful and small little voice that made Izumi's heart sing with joy every time she heard him speak.

"Yes my love," she replied stroking his head as he lay comfortably curled up in the bend of her body.

"I hope I can be a hero one day and help people. Not necessarily by fighting but however I'm needed."

"That's very kind and noble of you Iroh," Izumi whispered, looking down at his beautiful face before pressing a kiss onto his forehead. That night after he fell asleep, she decided she was ready. She left a note on her mother's bedside table on her way out asking that she help Iroh if she didn't return until the next morning. She then changed into her peasant clothes that she dug out of her childhood bedroom, grabbed a traveling cloak, and went to Masaru's mansion, launching herself over the wall with her firebending.


	17. To Love Someone (EXP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Beautiful Masumi Smut (imo, it's beautiful)

This time, she was ready for whatever his guards brought. She put down her hood as soon as she landed in the third floor corridor. She was surrounded almost immediately. She twisted up onto one hand creating a ring of Fire with her feet knocking them all down with red. Two earthbenders sent their gloves in her direction. She was ready. She turned kicked one to the side, one up and evaded then punched the other two Earthen gloves out the window and bent lower into another stance. They looked surprised.

"Tell me where your Master is!" Izumi demanded.

"Why should we tell you?" A guard asked.

"Because if you don't, I'll have you locked away for an eternity only to never see the light of day again!" Izumi yelled lifting him by one hand.

"Princess Izumi!" A voice called. She turned around. It was the first two guards she met at Masaru's house.

"Lu, Yen!" Izumi remembered their names. "I need to speak with Masaru!"

"He is rather occupied at the moment," Lu informed her.

"We recommend you leave and return later with an appointment." Yen added.

"I am the Princess of the Fire Nation, I don't need an appointment to visit my best friend!" Izumi yelled lifting Lu off his feet with one hand, lighting fire in her free one.

"Put him down, Zumzu, we don't want anybody to get hurt, now do we?" Masaru said behind her.

Izumi froze at the sound of his voice and then dropped the guard and extinguished the flame in her other hand.

"Before you get angry and wake my father, just know that both he and my mother agreed to let me come here since you're the only one who can help at this point."

"Huh?" Some of the guards gasped.

"I can explain in private." Izumi said.

Masaru nodded and opened the door to his office.

"Hisoki is gone." Izumi said pulling her hood down but not looking up. "He has been for a year and no one has been able to find him. He was crushed after the miscarriage. Blamed me for everything then fled. Claimed he felt like he was worth nothing. My parents say he's as good as dead, but the Fire Sages still insist that since I am still able, I must provide another heir to the crown. I know this is not under the best of circumstances, but— can you help me?" Izumi asked finally looking up with her golden-tangerine colored eyes and a tone of desperation Masaru didn't recognize.

"You-" he set his pen down and ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back. "What you're suggesting is adultery-"

"Hisoki is DEAD!"

"You don't know that. Until his body turns up you're still bound to him-"

"I don't care! Saru— you're my best friend!"

"Close the door, will you?" Masaru asked.

She did a bit more gently this time and locked it.

"If anyone finds out, the nobles will raise armies and start a civil war against your family! When they find you've been lying to them—"

"I don't care! They claim to want us to spread love and peace, not war! Why should they start an uprising because I love somebody? Saru— please!" Izumi begged.

"What do your parents say about this— ludicrous suggestion of yours?" Masaru asked.

"They said I should remarry."

"Why don't you just do that?"

"Because I want to marry you, Saru but I know you would never consent!"

"I would. If his body were present and we had confirmation that-"

"We've searched for a year! Even now I have a secret army of people out there looking! A personal force even my dear father doesn't know about— we've done EVERYTHING we could and cannot find him. He doesn't want me, Saru clearly, and I couldn't care less about him, but time is running out and the Sages say I must produce another child—"

"Another heir," Masaru clarified. "Not a bastard with no claims to anything!"

"When I become Fire Lord, I will legitimize him and silence any of those opposed to me loving my _true_ family! Saru, please—"

Masaru sighed. There was something different about this Izumi from the one he left that fateful day that he returned from the Army. She was not going to give up on him. She was still going to do her duty, but ... unconventionally. "I will consent, but ONLY under certain conditions—"

"Which are?"

"Everything we do, happens in my house, under my rules—"

"This is my country—" Izumi shot back.

"My house and businesses are all Earth Kingdom property, unfortunately. Second condition: no one can know you're seeing me, and nobody can know our children are yours,"

"Why?"

"Because I will not have them labeled bastards or you labeled a common whore—" Masaru explained.

"But—"

"That is my final decision," Masaru said firmly.

Izumi gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Fine!" Izumi said with a disgruntled sigh. "Is that all?"

"Only one more. We will raise him or her, or them together. I am not allowed to take them out of the city, and you are not allowed to take them into the castle, for safety purposes. If the Fire Sages find out, they may have the children killed."

Izumi sighed. _Masaru is right._ "I accept your terms." she said looking up at him expectantly.

Masaru stood and walked over to her. _Why did he seem taller? Maybe it was the business suit._ She was so used to seeing him in casual sparring clothes when they were young, and then that one time in his army uniform on the day he saw her in her wedding gown fitting and left.

He had been a teenage boy then. Now he was a man.

Masaru extended a hand to Izumi. "But before we do get started, I'd like to give you a tour of the place. I know you've been here before, but you haven't really had the opportunity to explore and I'm sure it would be handy to know all of the escape routes in the off chance there is an emergency." Masaru said calmly. Izumi took his hand and felt a shiver run up her spine and spread throughout her body. She bit her lip to keep from grinning like a girl. _FINALLY!_

Masaru's estate was about a fifth the size of the royal palace and the second largest piece of property owned by a single person in the Fire Nation Capital. He showed her the kitchens, the servant's quarters, the game room, the theatre, the ballroom, dining areas, tea room, parlors, library, guest rooms, then finally— the resident's sector.

"Children's rooms," he said opening a few doors. "They've never been used," he added with a sad sigh looking at the four poster canopy beds draped in fire nation red with golden tassels hanging from the corners, Fire Nation flame hanging one wall in each room. "Everything can be rearranged or redecorated if you don't like it. The house can be expanded easily if needed," he said moving on.

Izumi wanted to stay forever at Masaru's estate and never return to the palace. Though still painted red and still rather dark, the estate felt more comfortable than the royal palace. Maybe it was the striking lack of imperial guards, maids, servants, generals, and politicians lurking around. It felt so safe. Izumi wouldn't need to constantly watch her back, watch her words, and maintain a her composure. Occasionally one earthbender and one firebender would pass, as they made their security rounds up and down the corridors, but other than that, there was nobody.

Then at last, Masaru came to the door at the end of the hall. "My room," he said, letting go of her hand to open it.

It was a rather spacious room with a king size four poster bed in the center of it, like the royal rooms at the palace. On the wall backing the headboard, there were couple of antique weapons hung up. Flanking the bed were two tapestries, one of a dragon and one of a badgermole. It was honestly the first time Izumi had ever seen Masaru acknowledge that half of his identity without being bitter. Then on the wall facing the bed, he hung a tapestry of his hometown of Gaoling.

"It's nice, but there are no flames like the children's' rooms." Izumi observed.

"The flames are simply placeholders. I simply couldn't stand the overwhelming emptiness I felt every time I saw the bare walls. They made the children's rooms look like prison cells. As each child grows, he or she will put up whatever they feel like collecting on their walls. I want it to be like a canvas," Masaru said walking over to the wall covered in weapons. The centerpiece, was a pair of hammers.

"Hammers that I will never be able to wield. Only an earthbender could," he said sadly. "I've used the swords," he said a bit more positively. "Your father gave them to me when I was sixteen."

"I never knew," Izumi said coming up beside him, wanting to put her arm around his waist, but not quite sure if it was her place.

"He is a kind man; I admire him dearly," Masaru said.

"He is." Izumi agreed. She looked around. _Yes, the walls were nice, but…_ "Where do you keep your clothing?" Izumi asked, eager to find a laundry basket and to see him take off his.

"Here. There's a closet," he said, firebending into a hole in the wall and revealing a secret door to an expansive room lined with racks of suits and robes.

Izumi's eyes widened. "That is incredible!" she ran over and into it. "Why did you flush it with the wall?"

"As a child, I was afraid of monsters in the wardrobe, believe it or not. I thought, just in case my children were too, and they slept with me, it would make sense to hide the closets so they didn't keep me up at night kicking," Masaru explained.

He walked over to another space of wall. "The loo is through here. It opens the same way," he said firebending into a flame shaped wall decoration to show her another secret door in the wall revealing a light bathroom with a large stained glass window. "We've installed a double vanity so if you want to bring any powders or whatever women wear nowadays, there is space," Masaru said.

"I don't bother with any of those," Izumi informed him. "I let Mother and Iliana deal with my face when they feel the urge to."

Izumi touched the clean counters of the bathroom and looked in the mirror at herself then to Masaru noticing him walking away from her.

"Wait! But aren't we going to—" Izumi said running after him. He turned and grabbed her wrist before she could touch his shoulder. She shrunk back and he let go.

"Sorry," he said genuinely, letting go of her wrist and running his hand through his hair. "I'm just not used to having such...pleasant company for the night. Or really anyone I could actually talk to. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten your intentions," he said taking off his jacket.

She waited. Should she disrobe on her own too or would he disrobe her? She usually hid under the covers until Hisoki came with the entourage that ensured she didn't burn him. Sometimes she just kept everything on and he removed what he needed to. Sometimes he took her in the hallways, quickly on his way to meetings much to her discomfort and inconvenience.

Izumi watched curiously as Masaru took his time undoing the buttons on the cuffs of his sleeves. Then he undid his jacket and hung it up, then his vest and cast it aside into a basket and finally pulled his shirt out of his trousers and unbuttoned that as well.

"Are you just going to stand there watching, Zumi?" Masaru asked seeing her eyes in the reflection of the blades of one of his swords.

"I—Sorry, I wasn't sure what would be appropriate-" Izumi said nervously turning away, feeling heat coming to her cheeks.

"Appropriate," he laughed. "Nothing about this encounter is appropriate given the circumstances but what do we care at this point? We're here now, and have your parents approval. So relax, why won't you. Make yourself at home. I promise I won't hurt you."

"You won't?" she asked looking up at him, surprised. She knew he loved her and that he was the kindest person in the world that she knew, but no pain? That was possible?

"I won't. You know me, Izumi. I would NEVER hurt you," he said turning to face her. She shied away. "Did _he_?" Masaru asked while walking over to Izumi, noticing the apprehension in her body language.

She said nothing but tried and failed miserably to collect herself.

"Did he hurt you?" Masaru repeated a little more sternly.

"Mother says it's because I didn't love him," Izumi said, still gazing at the floor.

Masaru lifted her chin with a gentile nudge of his index finger.

"No, it has nothing to do with who you love. If he really cared, he wouldn't have hurt you," Masaru said, his eyes narrowing as he gazed into hers, as if he were reading her mind. He touched her lower lip and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked quickly, putting her arm between them, not used to embracing anyone but her parents.

"I want you to enjoy this too. Just trust me, Izumi" he said lowering his face onto hers, kissing her.

She tested the feeling, then pushed away and wrapped her arms around herself. "Sorry," she said looking away.

"I swear you're being more coy than a virgin," Masaru told her.

"How do you know? Have you fucked many virgins?" Izumi asked anxiously, still with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Not many, but quite a few," Masaru confessed.

She frowned.

"Don't be surprised. Like you, I tried to have a life when we learned we couldn't be together, but I never found anybody I liked, let alone loved. What do you find so concerning, Izumi?"

"I don't know!" she yelled waving her arms once before letting them drop to her sides before folding them again. "I just don't know what you're doing! I thought you were going to-"

"-just fuck you? I would never. I am going to love you, Izumi. All you have to do is trust me. Let down those fiery walls. I want to show you what 'trying' truly means," he said.

"Fine." Izumi said unfolding her arms.

Masaru stepped towards her again. He removed her traveling cloak and let it fall to the floor then flipped her robes off her shoulders revealing her perfectly round yet taut young breasts.

"If looking only at your chest, one would have never been able to guess you've ever fed a baby," he said with a smile covering one of her warm breasts with his hand. She gasped and wrapped a hand around his wrist.

What was that feeling?

He didn't squeeze her but massaged the tender flesh, occasionally running his thumb over her soft nipple until it hardened into a small peak while his other hand caressed her neck, and his mouth covered her lips.

She reached over with her free hand and touched his muscular chest curiously then pulled away.

"I'm sorry! I want it, I just don't know what I'm doing!" she said walking a few paces away again.

"Then I'll wait and when you're ready, I'll be here," he said casually walking over to the bed. He flopped down on it on his back just like they both did they were children and used to nap together after bending practice.

She watched him just lay there, not pushing her or pulling her in any way that made her uncomfortable. She was almost mad. How long would it take to just 'show her how to love'? She walked over, with her gown still hanging on her waist, her traveling cloak on the floor and flopped down next to him on her back and just lay there. "I don't understand. You said you were going to love me and then you just walked away?" she asked, feeling somewhat hurt and slightly betrayed.

"Loving you includes waiting until you are ready to do the same. I don't want you to be uncomfortable or apprehensive or afraid to be with me. Love takes trust, Izumi," Masaru replied with his hands folded neatly over his bare chest as he looked up at the canopy, breathing slowly. "I know your head trusts me, but your body is still afraid."

It made so much sense. Maybe Masaru was right. Maybe Izumi wasn't quite ready. She just never had anyone acknowledge that was even a possibility until now. Everything she had to do was just duty. She never had the choice to wait. All the pain she endured was just a necessary sacrifice for collective gain.

"So what have you been up to, in the last three years, Saru?" she asked, deciding to try this 'waiting' business, wondering if she would ever be able to lay with a man without being so afraid.

"Reflecting," he replied simply.

"Reflecting on what?" Izumi pressed.

"What exactly I want to do with my life," he replied.

"And what is that?"

"To not be so alone," he replied.

Izumi looked up. Alone. Wasn't that feeling familiar?

"During a recent trip to the Earthen Fire Headquarters in Republic City, I discovered I had a sister. And if my rudimentary math stills are correct, we share both a mother and father," Masaru said breaking the moment of contemplative silence.

"Lin Beifong," Izumi replied.

"Of course you'd know her," he said with a sad sort of jealousy.

"She's my best friend. Well, she and Kya both are, I guess. You've heard of the Avatar's daughter, right?"

"I know of Kya of the Southern Water Tribe, and of Bumi," Masaru replied looking moving his hands to behind his head. "Why didn't you ever tell me about my sister?"

"I knew you wouldn't hear it," Izumi replied.

"What do you mean?" Masaru asked.

"You hated your mother for not coming after you when you were five years old. What she saw as letting you be free to pursue your dreams, by not chaining you up in the yard of the Beifong Estate in Gaoling, you interpreted as neglect and abandonment. She just wanted you to be happy in your element of fire. She just wanted you to be free.

"Every time my mother brought up yours, you shut her down. You rejected your Earth Kingdom Heritage. Claimed there to be a mistake. You so adamantly spoke of being only Fire Nation. So the both of us also stopped trying. We honestly didn't know how you'd react to your sister, but didn't want to hurt you, so we held back."

"Oh. I guess that makes a lot of sense now."

"Do you want to go meet her?"

"I don't know if now's the right time. She's kind of— at odds both with our mother and our half-sister. I don't want to give her another reason to hate mother for not telling her about me,"

"That's very sensitive of you," Izumi replied.

There was another pause.

"Can I tell you a secret, Izumi?" Masaru asked.

"What kind of secret?" she asked, rolling onto her side propping her head up on one arm, completely forgetting she was half-naked.

"I too have a secret army, like you. I have them trailing both Lin and Suyin, to keep them safe— well as safe as they can without either girl noticing."

"That's very kind of you," Izumi said tentatively placing a hand on his muscular bicep.

"I'm glad you think so," Masaru replied pretending to not notice, but internally, swelling. "It was the only thing I could think of doing to make up for abandoning them in my youth."

"You didn't abandon them. You left before either of them were conceived. You couldn't have known then what you would be missing. Don't feel guilty. You have a good heart."

"You don't think it's creepy for me to be essentially spying on them at all times?"

"You have good reason to. You love them and want them to be safe. I understand."

"Good, because I also have a division of my army trailing you." Masaru mused gazing up at the canopy.

"WHAT?!" Izumi asked, jumping out of bed with her hands on her hips, not caring that she was topless.

Masaru sat up lazily. "I know how strong you are as a bender, a diplomat, and a Princess, and you take great pride in not needing anyone's protection, but you have always been and always will be the love of my life and if anything serious happened to you, I would never forgive myself. I am selfish for doing this behind your back and you have every right to be angry with me for not telling, but I needed assurance that you were as safe as can be just to get through every morning."

Izumi flopped down on the edge of the bed again, processing his words. She covered her face in regret. "I should have NEVER trusted Hisoki! I should have just disbanded the Fire Sages even if that meant burning the temples to the ground and just stayed with you!"

"Why?" Masaru asked, appalled by the outburst.

"Because you actually care about me, and not just my fertility." she replied angrily falling on her back with her hands behind her head. "All he cared about was fulfilling his obligation to impregnate me. I wasn't a human being to him, only a trophy. And to the Fire Sages, a piece of cattle raised for breeding."

"I'm sorry you had to endure such a horrible thing," Masaru said, placing a hand on her stomach, just over her belly button. He could span her waist with his hands. She was so powerful yet looked so small and delicate, almost fragile there in his large bed. "But I don't ever want you to feel like cattle again and even if you think it is what you need me to do, I want to love you."

"Then do it," Izumi said with furrowed brows, not looking at him but the ceiling.

"Do you trust me?" Masaru asked, sliding his hand to her waistband.

"Completely," Izumi replied, unmoving.

"Then close your eyes," Masaru said.

* * *

She relaxed her brows and her frown, and took a deep breath before closing her eyes. He slipped his hands into her skirt and clamped his hand over her woman hood and pressed his thumb down on her clitoris.

She gasped and arched her back in surprise more than anything as what felt like a jolt of electricity flew from there to her head.

"Did that hurt?" he asked removing his hand.

She was panting, her eyes squeezed shut but shook her head.

"Just trust me," he said, touching her there again. Her breathing quickened.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"You'll find out," he said running his finger over her clit pressing down on it, prodding it, pinching it. Her left leg bent and fell to the side opening her hips as he felt her becoming wet. She twisted slightly but her knees didn't close. Her legs just twitched and her torso twisted trying to wiggle away, but there seemed no obvious pain. Just stimulation.

"Stop!" she gasped. He let go and wiped his hand on his pants, then propped himself on his elbow and looked at her.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him in shock.

"Yes, Princess?" Masaru asked innocently.

Everything felt so— tingly. She looked down at herself feeling the wetness, but not the aftermath of any pain. There wasn't even any penetration yet and her clothes were still on. So how did she become wet and sticky if it weren't semen?

"Where did it come from?" she asked innocently. "If you're-"

"That was all you, darling." Masaru said with a smile of success, sliding his hands back into her skirt. "We will do that first so that when this happens," he slid a finger into her warmth, eliciting another gasp. "It doesn't hurt," he said pulling it out again. She sat up and looked up at him in wonder. She couldn't believe what he was saying. She couldn't believe what he just did. His finger was inside of her and while she felt it, nothing hurt.

He sat by her waiting patiently, never using force with her once, always waiting until she was ready.

"Can I keep my eyes open this time?" she asked looking down at her pelvis.

"This time? You want me to do it again?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes," she said sitting up. "I want to see what you're doing to me."

He shrugged and slipped off her skirts so she was completely naked on his bed and put his hand between her legs and stimulated her again. Her leg started twitching and her breath quickened. She was trying not to kick for some reason. She yelled and pulled her hips back.

"It's too much-" she said sliding back looking down at her own sex with a million different thoughts running through her head.

"In a good way or a bad way?" he asked.

"I'm not sure!" she said looking conflicted as ever.

* * *

"If you're ready, I am," he said beginning to untie his waistband, but waiting.

"I am," she said confidently.

"Then close your eyes," he said again.

"Why now?"

"Because frankly, Princess. I believe you have seen enough horrors in your young lifetime and don't need to add my cock to it," he replied. Izumi wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but remained silent. "You can open your eyes now."

He was already straddling her. She was a bit disappointed. She'd seen his chest growing up during almost daily, but never the thing between his legs that were now concealed between her own.

She reached up and curled her wrist around the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. He leaned forward and put an arm around the back of her shoulders and groped her breasts a while, then finally, he reached down between their legs and pressed his spongey tip to her wet opening and pushed lightly. There was no pain, no stretching and no—-sticking. He pushed just a little harder and she felt him enter easily. He was wider than Hisoki, she noticed immediately, and longer. She felt her canal stretch and elongate as he pushed in slowly then hit the roof of her body. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat at that.

"Are you okay?" He asked noticing her gritted teeth and her eyes scrunch up slightly as she tried to decipher what exactly she was feeling.

"Mhm-" She barely managed to say as he kept pushing inside.

"Ow!" she said as he pressed on the roof of her opening. He pulled out immediately.

"No don't stop, I think— I just— it didn't hurt at all going in, but I don't think I am deep enough to accommodate- everything-" she paused and looked up at him with worry. His face was completely calm and understanding.

"I'll be more careful," he said. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't mean to-" he said. "We can stop for tonight-"

"No!" she said hooking her ankles, locking her legs around his waist so he couldn't escape her now. He turned to her, shocked.

She released her legs too, startled by her own reaction, looking away, embarrassed with herself.

"I want you," she confessed, reaching between their legs, enclosing her hand around his hardened shaft. She found it was wrinkly and slimy with her own juices and she guided him back to her opening and slid him in and let go. "I want this," she said.

He placed one hand on her hip and the other on the bed and pushed himself all the way in. It was a tight fit but she was, determined to see this through.

He pulled out and slid back in effortlessly.

Everything was so easy from then on out. She couldn't believe it. He touched that spot again on the outside that sent a shiver through her whole body. He rubbed it furiously as he picked up speed. She lost control of her body and started shaking and making noises she didn't recognize.

She cried out and felt herself release something she didn't think she had inside of her.

"I can't-" she gasped as he penetrated her with rapid thrusts, his sac bouncing against her ass.

Finally he pushed as deep as he could, pressing his tip flat against her cervix and exploded directly into her womb before collapsing beside her with one heavy arm over her thin torso, both of them panting.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I think it was your first orgasm, dear and my first one in a long time,"

"What is an orgasm?"

"Really, nobody ever taught you any of these things?" he asked with disbelief.

"I don't think the Fire Sages thought it was necessary for a Princess to enjoy copulation," Izumi explained, trying to calm down and slow her breathing. "So it never became part of the curriculum in my training."

"Well I believe it is necessary for a Princess to enjoy everything, lest the nation suffer under her constant yet volatile rage," Masaru replied.

Izumi smiled. "Can I stay here for tonight? I don't know why but I feel just— exhausted and don't want to go back to the Palace,"

"Don't be surprised. You just had the first real fuck of your life. I think you orgasmed twice. Of course you're exhausted. And of course you can stay the night, Izumi. I'll send word to your parents so they know where to send the carriage in the morning," Masaru said standing up, completely recovered, pulling on a robe and heading to the phone in his office, leaving her there, panting.

The next morning Izumi ducked into the carriage under cloak and rode into the palace through the servant's entrance.

"Mother, Father!" Izumi yelled, running into the breakfast room where Iroh was sitting on his grandmother's lap and not on his own chair. Izumi beamed.

"I take it you had an enjoyable evening," Mai said, feeding Iroh.

"How can you tell?" Izumi asked breathless with excitement, sitting down next to her mother easily without any pain between her legs, only a slight numbness.

"Two indicators. The first, you didn't return at all last night, and the second, you're smiling, and lately you've been smiling nearly as much as me," Mai explained clearly.

"Oh," Izumi laughed. "Then I guess it was enjoyable," she said skeptically as she moved Iroh to her lap.

While Izumi was distracted with Iroh, Mai leaned over to Zuko and whispered "Thank you. We're doing the right thing."

"I hope so," Zuko replied pensively.

At the end of breakfast, Izumi was still smiling.

"I'm going to take my son to work on his sparring with his Uncle Saru."


	18. Takeo's Birth

Izumi hid her pregnancy well after deciding nobody needed to know about her private life. She remained by her father's side during war meetings and ministry meetings, wearing particularly baggy robes with large shoulder armor right up until delivery. She was surprised with how well she managed the early contractions until the very end of the last meeting of the day. As soon as the doors to the throne room closed behind the last general, Izumi spoke.

"Father, he's coming," she whispered taking a deep, slow breath with her fists closed over her knees.

Zuko turned to Iliana who always came for the Princess after such meetings. "Quickly! Summon Master Akira and the business man, Masaru!" Zuko ordered.

"Yes, My Lord!" Iliana said sprinting to the infirmary.

Zuko personally helped his daughter to the birthing room, meeting Mai and Masaru there.

"I swear to god, if I ever renovate this palace, I am going to make it much smaller!" Izumi muttered as they helped her to bed. "Everything is so… fucking… far…" she said reeling with pain.

"Sorry, love," Mai said dabbing her head with a wet cloth.

"I promise, I will do ANYTHING I can to help," Masaru whispered in her ear before kissing her temple.

"She's only about two centimeters dilated, so at the moment, you can only wait," Master Akira said readying tubs of water, cool cloths for the Princess's head, and the blankets and cloths to clean the coming babe. The healers monitored Izumi very closely, constantly checking for any distress. They even invited a bloodbender in case the umbilical cord became wrapped around the unborn baby's neck.

"Any distress?" Mai asked after a few hours of waiting anxiously.

"No, My Lady," Master Akira said swirling water around Izumi's belly, trying to ease the pain. "He is properly oriented, head down, nothing in the way… It should be an easy birth,"

"I didn't realize that was a thing," Masaru chuckled, biting his lip nervously as he held Izumi's left hand while Mai held her right, and Zuko sat by her side with a hand next to her hip, not quite knowing where he should be, or where she hurt the most, but wanting to provide support in some way.

Izumi glared at him, and he instantly replaced his grin with a more stern expression remembering the last time Izumi gave birth and feeling a pang of guilt flood his being.

A little while later, the baby was finally crowning. "You're alright, Princess. Everything is going to be okay, push on my count," Akira said.

Both Mai and Masaru could practically watch as the trauma flashed before the front of Izumi's mind. She fell into a panic. Her breathing became ragged and irregular with her heartbeat accelerating rapidly.

"I can't!" Izumi gasped.

Mai and Masaru turned to face each other then Izumi again. They could see the panic fill her eyes.

"You got this!" Masaru yelled. "You've done it before, Zumzu! You can do it again!"

"Zuko, her hair-" Mai said nervously as it began to streak blue. "Akira! She's burning," Mai shrieked, mortified, letting go of Izumi's burning arm.

An assisting healer rushed over to treat the Fire Lady's burnt hands.

"I can't!" Izumi screamed hyperventilating.

"Princess you need to calm down-" Akira begged, reaching for her, but flinching back, away from the heat emanating from the distressed Princess's body. In a flash, all of her hair turned blue and her hand holding Masaru caught on fire, as she lost her sense of self in the fit of panic.

Masaru looked around quickly. Here goes nothing, he thought as he placed his left hand on her swollen belly, keeping his right hand intertwined in her left, using his own firebending to keep her flame and heat from burning him. He felt and mapped every electrical pathway in her body.

"Akira! Count for me!" Masaru yelled.

"What is he?!" Akira asked.

"JUST TRUST ME!" Masaru yelled.

"Three… Two… One…"

Masaru closed his eyes and took over the electrical signalling in Izumi's lower body and forced all of the muscles in her vagina to contract. Izumi screamed as she felt baby's head came out.

"One more!" Akira said putting her hand into Izumi's vagina to help turn the child.

"No!" Izumi cried panting through sweat and tears.

Akira ignored her and counted down. Masaru sent another wave of dark lightning through her body effectively forcing her to push again and the baby came out.

"Saru-" Mai gasped looking up with her hands encased in ice where her daughter's skin burned her at him as he quickly removed his hand from Izumi's belly, leaving no mark at all. Maybe dark lightning wasn't such a bad thing.

Izumi was panting. Her hair darkened, but she was still panicking. A healer put a cool rag on her head.

Zuko was in shock. "That makes three," he whispered thinking about the dark lightning. Hisoki used it to paralyze his daughter. Azula used it to verify her pregnancy with Iroh, and now Masaru used it to deliver their baby.

There was a gurgle and a sputter and then wailing.

"And a prince is born!" Akira said cheerfully.

"He's not a prince," Zuko corrected Akira with a sadness in his tone. "But he will be... someday... when things change." he said turning to his daughter expectantly.

Izumi was too weak to even lift her head or acknowledge anything that was happening at this point.

"Will her skin burn his body?" Masaru asked as Akira approached Izumi with the baby.

"Not if he's a firebender," Akira said.

"Then don't put him on her. Not yet!" Masaru said. "I don't want to risk hurting him!" Masaru said looking at Izumi's still blue hair.

"Zumi! Zumi listen to me!" He begged holding her hand tightly. "You're fine! Everything is fine. He is safe. _Our son_ is safe. He is breathing. He is screaming. He needs you, Izumi! He needs you to come back to us, to calm down. YOU ARE BOTH SAFE! So cool down." He said holding her hand as she cried. "Please... Breathe, Love," he said. Izumi gasped for air. "Slowly," he reminded her. She took a deep breath and her hair darkened. A second and it was almost black again. "You cannot hold the boy until you cool down. You don't want to hurt him, right?" Masaru said letting go of her hand to take the slimy lump of life from Akira and show Izumi. "See?" he asked presenting the mushy little newborn to her with shaking hands.

Izumi smiled at the sight of him and her hair turned black again.

"Zuko, can you check her temperature?" Mai asked giving her hands to a healer to get the ice melted off.

"She should be safe," Zuko said checking Izumi's arm and neck temperature.

Masaru verified and Izumi reached for her new son.

Masaru placed the baby onto her bare chest and she started crying.

Masaru kept a hand on Izumi's forehead and they all moved towards the headboard of the birthing bed so the healers could clean the baby in Izumi's arms.

"What will you call him?" Akira asked.

Izumi looked up at Masaru to answer for her.

"Takeo," he said. "Bastard or not, he will have a great name and we will teach him to love his country and make him want to defend all that is good and right, just like his parents, in whatever capacity he is able."

Akira smiled.

Izumi held her hand to the back of the baby's head she tucked under her chin, feeling his little warm body against her bare skin. She said nothing. She didn't need to. She and 'Saru had already discussed names ahead of time. They already discussed everything, including legitimizing her son someday, when the time was right. Until then, they would hide him from their enemies in the Fire Sages' Temples in plain sight. He would bear Masaru's last name, live in Masaru's estate most of the time, and go to school like every other child, and never know the loneliness of Palace Life.


	19. Iroh's Question

Masaru always stayed in Azula's sector of the palace when he came over. It was the only place where no guards were allowed to go where they could hide all of their family secrets. Masaru was helping Iroh practice some of his firebending forms when the boy stopped.

"Is something wrong?" Masaru asked the young prince with a compassionate expression of sympathy.

"Uncle Saru," Iroh asked walking over fearlessly, loving his 'uncle' greatly.

"Yes Prince Iroh?"

"Can I ask you a question?" the six-year-old boy asked sadly. Izumi, walking across the platform on the second floor across the way with Takeo on her hip stopped to listen.

"Of course! Anything! What is on your mind, my little prince?" Masaru asked sitting on the bench directly below where he had seen Izumi pause, out of his peripherals.

"Do you think my Mother hates me?" Iroh asked.

Izumi clapped her hand over her mouth in shock. _NO! Why would he think such a thing. Did I do something wrong? Did I look at him cruelly or say something?_ She asked herself. She could feel her heat rising. _STOP! CALM DOWN ZUMI!_ She yelled at herself, remembering Takeo was on her hip, and having to remind herself that until they knew he was a firebender and could handle her heat, she had to be EXTREMELY careful in containing her ability and remaining in control at all times, of everything.

"NO! How could you think such a thing? Prince Iroh!" Masaru asked accusingly.

"It's just that- I have this feeling that Mother didn't like Father and I am his and not yours.. And I guess… I thought… just… well… what if I remind her of him? What if…."

"You don't," Masaru said dead seriously, frightening the boy slightly for good measure with a particularly low tone of voice to emphasize his point before relaxing slightly. "You are **NOTHING** like your father, just how Fire Lord Zuko is **NOTHING** like his father, former Fire Lord Ozai who came before him. You are _good_ , Iroh. You are good, and your mother loves you to the end of the world and back. She would do _anything_ for you. You are her first born son, and I know this won't make any sense at all to you but you created the very heart she carries in her chest now."

Iroh looked up at him eyes wide with bewilderment as he tried to understand. Masaru tried to clarify. "You gave her the strength to continue living in this very difficult-to-navigate world especially for someone in her position. You are her true love, Iroh."

"What about you?"

"I am **just** a man doing my duty to my country: keeping you and your mother safe and warm as you navigate this crazy world." Masaru answered simply.

"And you're okay with that?" Iroh asked with the most adorable furrowed brows.

"Absolutely!" Masaru said.

"You're sure she doesn't hate me?"

"Certain of it! Frankly, I don't think your mother could truly hate anyone anymore. After all she's struggled to get through, she understands that everyone is fighting their own battles inside, where no one sees, and everyone deserves sympathy and mercy."

"So you're saying she doesn't even hate my father, Hisoki?" Iroh asked.

"No. She understands he was hurt, angry that the Fire Sages were using him. The Fire Sages were using _both_ of them to carry on some stupid tradition." Masaru explained.

"Oh."

"But Iroh, listen to me, if it makes you feel any better, please know that you will always belong to your mother and she will always love you. AND, now that your mother sort of belongs to me, you are sort of my son too, and I promise I will always love you, and do anything I can to help you just as I would for any of my blood children." Masaru said kneeling before the little prince.

"Really?" Iroh asked looking down at him.

Izumi was crying with joy as she listened, trying to remain silent as Takeo frowned at her with one raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Masaru said. Iroh slid off the bench and hugged his 'Uncle Saru'.

"If you said you would do ANYTHING for me," Iroh began to say mischievously.

_Uh oh!_ Thought Izumi. You've done it now, Saru!"

"Can you teach me how to redirect lightning?!" Iroh asked excitedly, all fears and insecurities practically gone from the child's mind.

Masaru smiled.

_I SAID NO!_ Izumi screamed internally. _NO! We've talked about this! He's too young!_

"Now, now," Masaru said in a condescending tone. "Lightning generation is one of the most dangerous skills a firebender can learn, and lightning redirection, even more difficult to master. Get one thing wrong, and you could be DESTROYED!" Masaru said gravely as the boy listened wide eyed. "But I think you're ready." he said casually.

Izumi almost screamed and revealed herself, but instead just held onto Takeo and turned in a circle on the walkway with her hand over her mouth.

"Really?" Iroh asked truly surprised. "But Mother said I couldn't learn until I was ten years old!"

"Really?" Masaru asked feigning surprise, knowing perfectly well that Izumi was extremely protective of her children and didn't want them trying such dangerous maneuvers so early. "Did you know your beloved mother started shooting me with lightning when she was four years old without any regard for my safety, so your namesake had to teach me to redirect lightning when I was five?" Masaru asked the boy.

Izumi made a note to kill Masaru later, but not now. Not until he actually committed a crime.

"REALLY?!" Iroh asked with great interest.

"Yes!"

"Why would she do that if it is so dangerous?"

"She thought it was fun," Masaru shrugged. "And don't worry about her getting mad at you. What she doesn't know can't hurt her, can it? Just do exactly as I say, and don't get injured!" Masaru said.

_NO! He isn't actually going to teach him this, and demonstrate? Oh shit he's going to shoot my baby!_ Izumi said pacing.

"Relax, Princess," Azula said appearing, putting a calming hand on her dear niece's shoulder. "Saru won't harm the Prince, and if he does, don't worry. I'll kill him and spare you the blood," Azula offered. Izumi smiled at her gratefully and watched he lover and her son begin training.

"Before we can deal with lightning we must first understand how the energy flows within our own bodies, and the best way to learn that is by studying waterbending," Masaru said showing Iroh the motions as the boy watched wide-eyed and completely captivated by everything Masaru was saying and doing.

After a few minutes, Masaru stepped back and just watched six-year-old Iroh practicing the motion. Masaru corrected his hands and legs and watched a bit longer then finally said "I think you're ready to try it."

Izumi almost screamed but Azula covered her mouth, Takeo still watched her with his little furrowed brows.

"If anyone is going to shoot your son with lightning, it should be Saru. He can control the electricity at a greater range with greater precision AND keep it away from the boy's heart regardless of the child's technique," Azula reassured Izumi. "Remember, he delivered your baby." Azula touched the one year old's nose. Izumi turned and looked at him too, kissed his head, and returned her gaze to Iroh and Masaru.

"Ready?" Masaru asked.

"Ready!" Iroh replied.

Masaru sent an extremely low voltage lightning bolt at the boy, and the boy redirected it to the sky.

"Good!" Masaru said.

"Really?" Iroh asked jumping up clapping his hands.

Masaru nodded.

Izumi let out a sigh of relief.

"How do you feel?" Masaru asked.

"Powerful!" Iroh said beaming.

"And you should, but remember, with great power comes…"

"...great responsibility." Iroh finished

Masaru nodded. "Yep. You have to be careful," he reminded the boy, charging up for another lightning strike.

This time, Iroh let it pass through him but missed the sky and hit the courtyard catwalk behind him almost striking Izumi and Takeo, but Zumi managed to roll aside.

"Good technique, but watch your aim, Love," Izumi said pulling herself to her feet again, wiping dust off of Takeo's irate face.

"MOTHER?!" Iroh whirled around, mortified as Masaru started cackling with laughter, knowing she had been there the entire time.

Izumi merely smiled proudly and adjusted Takeo on her hip.

The shock and fear of reprimanding on Iroh's face turned into a wide grin when he finally began to believe she wasn't angry. She was proud.

"I thought you would be afraid of me hurting myself," Iroh confessed when she joined them down in the courtyard.

"I thought I would be too, but then I realized just how absolutely miserable it is to live fearing everything all the time. Fear is not at all necessary to go through life-" Izumi began to say.

"But great Aunt Azula says fear is the only reliable way!" Iroh protested.

Izumi turned and frowned at her aunt who still stood on the balcony watching them all with great pride.

"It isn't the only way. Respect is. Respect the power any and every action has over your surroundings and act accordingly. Do not do unto others something you do not wish done unto you. While I was growing up, my parents _always_ feared for my safety. They worried I would be targeted for bullying if I went to the Royal Academy for girls, an elite Fire Nation School where all the princesses before me were forced to go. They feared the children of those formerly loyal to Ozai would try to break me. They made my entire education contained within these palace walls. For me, learning felt like nothing but limitations. I will not do the same to you. I will not restrict you in a way that will inhibit your growth. I want you to learn what you want, just… safely, okay?" Izumi asked.

Iroh nodded.

"If you want to learn anything with firebending, you know you can ask, me, Uncle Saru, and even aunt Azula no matter how scary the history books make her seem. She is a really nice lady now, honestly! And she would love to teach you," Izumi said genuinely.

"Thank you, Mother," Iroh said hugging her.

"No, thank you, for being so curious and unafraid to ask questions, Iroh," Izumi replied, kissing him on both cheeks.

"Now if you excuse me, I think Takeo is getting hungry," Izumi said as the one year old started tugging at her collar.

"You go have fun, love, I got Iroh," Masaru said kissing Izumi on the lips quickly.

"Thank you, so much!" Izumi said before running off.


	20. Rikuto's Discovery

**145AG**  
Izumi had never seen Iroh run down the secret tunnel that fast before to get to Masaru's Estate. He had just finished an incredibly rare firebending lesson with his grandfather and couldn't wait to share what he learned with his little brothers.

"KEYOO! KUTO! SAAAA-SUKE!" the eleven-year-old yelled as he flew up the steps and out the door into the main courtyard of the lavish estate.

"Iroh!" his little brothers cheered, rushing over to greet him.

"Guys, I have something to show you!" Iroh yelled. "Check out this new form my grandfather taught me! It is called the Dragon Dance! He says someday, I may be able to MEET the dragons Ran and Sha and show them the dance and if it is good enough, and they deem me worthy, they will teach me the secrets of firebending!"

"REALLY?" four-year-old Rikuto asked. "REAL DRAGONS? THEY STILL EXIST?!"

"I thought the Dragon of the West, Great," six-year-old Takeo paused to think. "GREAT Uncle Iroh slayed the last dragon!"

"He was lying! He did that to protect them from all of the blood-thirsty, honor-craving firebenders at the time!" eleven-year-old Iroh explained with the widest grin and the brightest eyes she had ever seen on him.

"Grandfather Zuko and Avatar Aang and Mother and Uncle Saru all learned from the dragons!" Iroh yelled.

The younger boys turned to their mother who finally emerged from the tunnel.

"You learned from the dragons tooooooo?" Rikuto asked.

Izumi smiled and winked at him, neither confirming or denying the fact explicitly as she picked up two-year-old Sasuke.

"So are you going to teach us the form or just show it?" Takeo asked.

"First, I will show it, then I will teach it!" Iroh said.

"Okay!" Takeo said grabbing Rikuto's hand on his way to the edge of the courtyard to get out of the way which was standard procedure for anyone's bending demonstration for safety purposes.

Izumi sat next to Masaru on the marble bench with Sasuke on her lap while Rikuto and Takeo kneeled, waiting for Iroh.

He took his first stance with his hands together and one leg bent, with his toe tucked just behind the knee of the standing leg.

"Look familiar?" Izumi whispered in Masaru's ear as Iroh began the form.

He kissed her cheek in response.

After Iroh finished the form, he waved for his little brothers to join him.

Takeo and Rikuto ran over immediately. They worshipped Iroh, and would do anything he asked. Even Sasuke wiggled himself free of Izumi's grip, also wanting to get in on the action. The boys surprised both parents with their determination to get the form just right, synchronized, and even mirrored. Iroh did it with Takeo, and Rikuto with Sasuke.

"I have never known a two-year-old to have that attention span," Izumi said, watching Sasuke pound out rep after rep of the fundamental firebending form.

"I have," Masaru replied casually.

"Really? Who?"

"You," he replied, offering Izumi a cup of tea and kissing her forehead as he sat down beside her.

Izumi smiled. "Only because I was forced to," she said sadly.

Just then there was a thud and then crying.

Izumi looked up in shock, terror closing in on her heart for an instant as she

Sasuke was on the ground, crying with grass on his face and dirt on his bloodied nose.

"Huh?" Rikuto dropped by his side. "Sasuke! Sasuke! I'm sorry! Sasukee!" Rikuto cried, shaking his brother.

"What happened?" Izumi said rushing over, scooping Sasuke off the ground, wiping the blood off on the crimson sleeves of her rather opulent gown.

"I'm sorry!" Rikuto kept apologizing, crying as well.

"What did you do?" Masaru asked as gently as possible, placing a hand on his small son's tiny shoulder.

Rikuto slid to the side and revealed a little ripple in the ground. "I didn't mean to!" Rikuto cried throwing himself into his father's arms.

"Does this mean Kuto is an earthbender?" Iroh asked looking at the ground, eyes wide with shock.

"But… but… I don't want to be an earthbender! I want to be a firebender like Mother and Father!" Rikuto cried.

"But being an earth bender is sooooooo cool! You can sneak up on people and dig tunnels and make yourself REALLY tall and build houses AND… AND…" Iroh said in an attempt to lift his little brother's spirits. "And maybe the badgermoles can teach you the secret of YOUR element too!"

"But there aren't even badgermoles in the Fire Nation! They can't tunnel or they'll get burned by the volcanoes!"

"Then you can learn from an earthbender!"

This made Rikuto only sob harder. By this time, Sasuke had recovered and sat quietly nestled in his mother's lap there on the grass while Rikuto continued to bawl his tiny eyes out in his father's lap.

Masaru turned to Izumi who looked just as lost. How do you console a boy who felt so out of place and alone-

"Kuto! Rikuto! Listen to me!" Masaru said picking the boy up by the torso and holding him out in front of him, four inches off the ground.

Rikuto stopped crying and hung limp.

"Do you know who I am?" Masaru asked the young boy.

Rikuto frowned. Was this a trick question?

"Kuto?" Masaru asked with a certain seriousness in his voice.

"My father?" Rikuto guessed.

"My name is Masaru Lee, and I am the son of Toph Beifong, the greatest earthbender in the entire world, and Satoru Lee, a pioneering engineer in aviation, and the former owner of the Fire Nation half of Earthen Fire Refineries," Masaru said to his son.

"What?" Rikuto asked thinking back to all of his parent's bedtime stories about how Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko helped save the world and end the war with the Fire Nation with their friends, Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, Suki of Kyoshi Island, and Toph Beifong from Gaoling. "But aren't they like… famous? Why aren't you famous too?"

"Because, Rikuto, I ran away. I ran away and never bore the Beifong name."

"Why?" Rikuto exclaimed.

"Because I too once felt so out of place and afraid. I was born in Gaoling to the legendary, blind woman who taught the Avatar Earthbending, invented metalbending, and founded Republic City's Police. There were no firebenders there where I came from. In fact, in that isolated village, people hated my non-bending Father because he was ethnically Fire Nation. The Fire Nation had just been defeated after a century of ruthlessly burning and annexing territories, and here I was with the power to cause that same type of destruction. I was so afraid that if I didn't learn to at least control my bending, I would end up accidentally burning and hurting my friends or my family. So I ran away,"

"Does this mean I should run away away to find an earthbending teacher?"

"NO!" Masaru yelled, mentally punching himself in the face. "That is not what I am saying at all! I made a mistake in leaving. I didn't know then, but I know now, that no one element is better than another. Yes, you live in the Fire Nation, and sure, it may be difficult to find you a teacher, but it is not impossible."

"I am sorry for being such an inconvenience," Rikuto sighed.

"You're not an inconvenience! You're our son and we would do anything for you. Just because you bend earth does not make your worth any less than that of your brothers and your classmates." Masaru told the boy.

"But what if I hurt Sasuke or Takeo- what if I hurt PRINCE Iroh because I cannot control my earthbending?!" Rikuto asked.

"Rikuto! Accidents happen. It is not the end of the world so don't worry! See, Sasuke is fine now!" Masaru said trying to calm the boy. "I am sure Lu could give you some tips on how to handle what you can do until we find a more permanent solution, okay?"

"Okay," Rikuto sighed.

Masaru hugged him and patted him on the back and ruffled the black hair on his tiny head. "Don't be ashamed of who you are! Be proud to be an earthbender, Rikuto. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. They aren't afraid to face their problems head-on-"

"But Father, I AM afraid!" Rikuto cried all over again. Izumi closed her eyes impatiently, and squeezed Sasuke like one would a stuffed animal to calm herself down. "I don't like to face things head-on! Father, there must have been a mistake! What if I am just weak?"

"You're not weak, you're four!" Izumi interrupted, trying in vain to mask her frustration with his weeping. As a child, Izumi never cried out of frustration, not that her mother would have tolerated it anyways. The action simply wasn't productive. A waste of energy, to Izumi. She wanted to console him but wasn't quite sure yet how to and could only hope her partner had the ability to…. Which she found out quickly didn't involve her intervention, she noticed as Masaru shot her a death glare. _Tone not helping!_ Silencing her again.

"There is no mistake!" Masaru said running his hand over his son's head. "Rikuto, you are an Earthbender and must accept this. We do not get to chose the bodies...or families," Masaru glanced at Izumi. "That we are born into. What we _can_ choose is how we respond to our circumstances. You can choose to continue to cry for the rest of eternity over something nobody can change, or you can accept your nature and find peace. Learn to bend your element and use it to protect your family."

"Protect it?! I'll just bring shame and dishonor on the family!"

"KUTO!" Izumi yelled, getting angry. _Where did he get these absurd notions?_ "How could you say such a thing?"

"The people at school will make fun of me! There are no earthbenders there! I'll be an oddity! They'll call me a bastard- they _already_ call me a bastard even though I am born from two firebenders. They don't know that you are Toph Beifong's son!" Rikuto cried.

Masaru and Izumi were both horrified by this revelation. The four year old attended nursery for three hours a day to acquaint himself with other children, and they were already calling him a bastard?

"What is wrong with other children these days?" Izumi asked her lover who shrugged.

"It wasn't the students," Rikuto revealed. "It was the teachers."

"That's it!" Izumi stood and placed Sasuke into Masaru's lap. Her hair streaked blue for a fleeting instant and Takeo and Iroh took a few paces back from their mother.

"Zumi, where do you think you're going?"

"The nursery school," Izumi replied, cracking the ground with the heat radiating from her feet.

"Izumi!" Masaru locked his fingers around her wrist. "You are the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation! You can't just waltz into the school and beat respect into those teachers!"

"I'll wear a disguise!" Izumi informed him, trying to pull away.

"That's not-" Masaru began to say, before Izumi lit her arm on fire in a futile attempt to get Masaru to release her. "Zumi! Stop this!" He said, extinguishing the flame with a wave of his hand, completely unfazed by her tantrum.

"Please don't make me fight you in front of them," Izumi begged with a sigh of exasperation and a nod at their children.

"Then don't fight me and just listen, okay?" he asked, not letting go of her wrist until she nodded and abandoned her rage. "You need to calm down," He started, running his fingers through her burning hair. Oh right, that. "Kuto is never going back to that school, okay? I will talk to the teachers on Monday and start searching for an earthbending master, and you, you will go back over there and help me console our son WITHOUT rolling your eyes or muttering under your breath about other people's lack of respect," Masaru said quietly.

Izumi took a deep breath and darkened the last of the blue streaks in her hair and Masaru released her wrist.

Just then, there was a crash in one of the second floor rooms, and the sound of thundering footsteps of people approaching the walkway above the courtyard.

Izumi bent down and motioned for the children to come away from the balcony, towards her. They scurried over and huddled together, between their parents. The civilian clothes, the masks? They were probably just sellswords. One jumped off the balcony and firebent at Masaru. He blocked with a blazing wall of red fire. Then more appeared from other side of the courtyard. Izumi used red fire when she had to hide her identity. But she could feel her blue slipping into her red flames whenever she became afraid of losing control.

"Saru! I can't-" Izumi yelled. Masaru roared fire and created a sphere of rainbow flames around his family. The children looked up. There were colors of fire they had never seen before. It was the Fire of Life, bent to protect. It was impenetrable from the outside. Iroh, Takeo, Rikuto, and Sasuke watched as arrows were melted by the flames, whole swords passed and created puddles of molten metal just below the point of entry.

"Zumi! I need you to shoot lightning at the sky!"

"But Saru-"

"Just do it!" Masaru yelled.

Izumi generated the blast and looked to Masaru. He broke the top of the sphere so she could discharge it at the clouds.

Then he closed the sphere again and counted to sixty and let go of the rainbow sphere. There was blood and metal everywhere. Iroh shielded Takeo while Izumi picked up Sasuke and Masaru picked up Rikuto. They were surrounded now by at least a dozen men in black uniforms with an amber band on their arm just like the archer and the metalbender on the roof of the hotel that night in Fire Fountain City.

"Thank you for being so quick," Masaru said. He turned to Izumi. "If you ever need help, just send the sparks up, and they will find you."

Izumi shifted two year old Sasuke in her arms and nodded and then looked around at all of the masked men staring at their family.

"Do they know who I am?"

"Of course. You are the Golden-Tangerine. And you are what the Fire Nation needs," Masaru breathed. "Why don't you take them back to the palace for tonight? I need to get some work done," Masaru suggested.

Izumi nodded and ushered her sons towards the secret tunnel as the black clad men with the armbands began cleaning up the bodies. Izumi turned back once all of the children were in the tunnel to see one black clad man drag up the one intruder left living.

"Who do you work for?" Masaru asked. Izumi didn't hear the answer before hearing the sound of a blade going through the man.

"Come on, I'm sure Grandma Mai will be pleased to see all of you," Izumi said lighting a hand to lead her children through the tunnels under the city.

That night, Izumi and Mai tucked all four boys into Izumi's bed so she could keep an eye on them.

But somebody had seen them pass through the castle.

"Fire Lady Mai, Princess Izumi, the Fire Sages are here to speak with you both," Iliana said upon entering.

"I won't leave them unattended," Izumi said firmly.

"I'll go," Mai said exiting quickly, her black and red robes swirling around her body.

"They're beautiful, truly," Iliana said standing beside Izumi, looking down at their peaceful faces.

"Yes, they are," Izumi replied, looking down at them lovingly.

Just then there was the sound if her mother's knives sticking someone in the wall. One fire Sage made it into the room.

"BASTARDS? THAT IS YOUR SOLUTION?!" he yelled.

Without a second thought, Izumi raised her hand shooting blue fire from her hand, throwing him from the room as all of the children woke.

"Mother, will you get them back down?" Izumi asked before running out of the room.

Mai nodded approaching Iroh first. He was the oldest, and if he knew what Mai was about to do, would have been the only one able to resist it. She slid her hand to the back of his neck and put him out cold as Izumi raced out of the room.

"HOW DARE YOU WAKE THEM!" Izumi yelled lifting the fire sage by the neck and slamming him into the wall.

"We released you from your contract with Hisoki so you could remarry, not breed like an alley raccoon-cat!"

"Times are changing Fire Sage Miu," Izumi replied. "You asked me to have more children, and I did. Once I become Fire Lord, I will legitimize my children and they will all be potential heirs to the throne," Izumi informed them.

"You were supposed to marry-"

"I will NEVER partake in such a humiliating ceremony ever again! I will NEVER allow myself to be bred like a buffalo-cow! I am not a piece of branded cattle at your ranch that you can herd around, Sage Miu! I am the Princess Izumi and when I become Fire Lord, I will no longer make marriage requisite to produce heirs to the throne. I will legitimize all of my children and then there will be plenty of heirs to take over after me," Izumi said.

"If you're truly adamant about legitimizing them, why don't you ask your beloved father to do so now?"

"Because my beloved father has enough problems on his plate as it is. He has to be more careful than I will need to be because of his history as an official traitor of the Fire Nation by royal decree of Fire Lord Ozai. When I ascend to the throne, I will have no war history, no criminal record, and no blood on my hands. I will aim to spread love and peace exactly as the people demand so that when it comes time for me to announce the existence of my children, it should not be cause for uprising, for I am doing exactly as the people ask. Loving."

"Have you no honor, Princess Izumi?" the Fire Sage asked.

"Do not speak to me of honor, Sage," Izumi growled through gritted teeth, closing her hand around the Sage's throat even tighter. "Was it not **_you_** who subjected a twenty-year-old girl to **five years** of mental abuse and marital rape? During the remainder of my father's reign, and for the entirety of mine, the Fire Nation will continue to see MANY changes, and you best hope that doesn't include the disbanding of the ancient and OBSOLETE, Fire Sages," Izumi said releasing his neck at once and watching the old man crumple on the floor. "I am not a little girl you can command anymore," Izumi added looking down at his pitiful form with contempt. "I am Princess Izumi, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai and I will not obey anybody."

When Fire Sage Miu looked up, Fire Lord Zuko had joined them, and placed his hand approvingly on the Princess's shoulder. "You should be grateful for my daughter's good heart, and her mercy," Fire Lord Zuko informed the Fire Sage as his guards began removing his wife's knives from the other four. "Now, I recommend you return to the Temple and never again even think to interfere with the Fire Family's private affairs or else there WILL be consequences."

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko," Fire Sage Miu said bowing with the others as they took their leave.

Izumi waited until they had disappeared down the hall before she returned to her room where her mother and her maid, Iliana watched the four boys sleeping peacefully.

"Thank you for backing me, Father," Izumi said. "I am sorry I had to use violent intimidation tactics."

"From now on, I will always back you, Izumi. And don't worry about intimidation tactics. Unfortunately, they are still necessary sometimes," Zuko said, massaging Izumi's tense shoulders affectionately.

As they stood there, Izumi thought to the courtyard that afternoon, and the black clad men with their armbands killing for Izumi. And the last man living, that her lover interrogated. How many people had he ordered killed to ensure her safety? Was she really that important? Was **she** really what the Nation needed? Did her father know about Masaru's team trailing her ever since she married Hisoki?


	21. Toph's Return

**148AG**

The shipping port was bustling with activity as the young family awaited the passenger steamer.

Masaru stood on the docks wearing his best suit with his two-year-old son Tatsuya in his arms beside his lover who carried the two-year-old's identical twin brother, Tetsuya. Between them, ten-year-old Takeo stood holding hands with his eight-year-old brother Rikuto, and his six-year-old brother Sasuke as they waited anxiously for their grandmother to arrive.

Izumi wore a simple light pink dress that conveniently concealed her figure sculpted by thirty years of combat and etiquette training. She left her hair down for this meeting, and bore no Fire Nation insignias or decorations so she could hide her status as much as possible. She turned to her lover and the father of all of her children except one. "You're sweating, Love," she said, affectionately reaching over the heads of their three older boys to wipe his forehead with her long, stylishly wide sleeve.

"I haven't seen my mother in…" Masaru paused and tugged at his collar. "... thirty-one years!"

"Don't worry. You haven't missed anything. Trust me, she hasn't changed as long as I've known her. I'm sure she is just how you remember her," Izumi said reassuringly with a warm smile.

"The thing is," Masaru sighed sadly. "I barely remember her. You saw her every time you went to Republic City. She helped train you in pro-bending, and I left when I was five-years-old and never once looked back. What if she doesn't recognize my heartbeat?- Izumi, what if she doesn't recognize me?!"

"Saru, relax. If she doesn't recognize you, which I highly doubt, she will recognize me, and she knows she's looking for a couple with five babies." Izumi reassured him.

"You're right. I shouldn't worry so much… She'll find us…" Masaru said slouching, holding onto Tatsuya tightly.

"Damn right I will!" a gruff, relaxed voice said behind them, draping an arm over the shoulders of Masaru and Izumi. The three boys in the middle whirled around.

"WOAH!" Rikuto gasped looking down at a large hole that now existed before them, between the gray-haired stranger's feet.

"How'd you get there without us seeing you?" Sasuke asked.

"With earthbending!" Toph said, tapping Sasuke on the nose with a wide, toothy grin.

Rikuto jumped up and down. "Are you the legendary To-" _ph Beifong?_ Rikuto was about to ask before the old blind woman clapped her hand over the child's mouth.

"Hush up! Like your dear mummy here, nobody can know my name!" Toph hissed, looking around animatedly and pretending to be suspicious of her surroundings. "We are treading into VERY uncertain territory!" the old woman said. The three older boys gasped.

"Now! Which of you is the badgermole I am supposed to be training?" Toph asked.

Takeo grabbed Rikuto by both shoulders and gave him a firm shove forward towards the strange woman as if he were some blood offering to an angry dragon. "Just take him and go!"

"Excellent! How old are you, Kid?" the strange woman asked.

"Eight years, ma'am!" Rikuto said, puffing up his chest in an attempt to feel taller.

Toph smiled. "Great! Let's go-" Toph said putting a hand on his shoulder, whisking him away from his family.

"Wait! Aunt Toph!" Izumi called running after the woman while Masaru stayed back with Takeo and Sasuke.

"I'll hammer out the details of this… arrangement… with you and… _him…_ later this evening. You wanted me to train Kuto, and I will train Kuto, but I will do it my way and don't need any young firebenders interfering," Toph said to Izumi in a low tone so the excited little boy wouldn't hear.

Izumi sighed. "Very well. You _are_ the greatest of your kind… I suppose I should just… let you do your thing…"

"Got that right!" Toph said punching the Princess in the arm hard enough to bruise.

Izumi winced, glad Masaru didn't inherit that aggressive habit.

"She didn't even acknowledge me," Masaru whispered to Izumi as they headed to the train station to ride back to the capital.

"She just needs time. So much has changed, Saru. But everything will turn out alright. Remember Great Uncle Iroh. You may not always see the light at the end of the tunnel,"

"But if you keep moving, you will come to a better place," Masaru replied.

"Exactly," Izumi said boarding the train with Tetsuya on her hip and Sasuke at the tip of her longest finger on her free hand while Masaru remained in charge of Takeo and Tatsuya.

* * *

The rest of the day, Izumi and Masaru busied themselves with teaching Sasuke and Takeo how to make raspberry fruit tarts while also trying to juggle the now mobile twins while Toph was off who knows where with Rikuto.

"Did we do the right thing inviting her here?" Masaru asked Izumi nervously as they settled down in their favorite drawing room, Masaru with a business magazine, and Izumi with a report from her father about the recent council member appointments in Republic City.

"I don't know," Izumi replied, shrugging her shoulders the best she could with Tetsuya falling asleep on her chest while she read.

Just then a chunk of wall flew across the room, over the boys' heads, and into a tapestry of dragons encircling a flame with a heavy thud. Everyone turned to the source of the destruction to find a hole in the wall, revealing several more holes behind it leading one to presume that the legendary Toph Beifong had her grandson simply earthbend his way into the room where their family was resting.

"I'm an earthbender, and now you have to deal with it!" Rikuto said, stomping the ground to lift up a bunch of rocks out of the marble floor before kicking and punching them into all of the walls of the drawing room.

"Kuto! Please don't earthbend inside! You'll dirty the tapestries!" Masaru asked of his son, standing and moving Tatsuya onto his mother's belly beside his twin brother who was awoken by the sound of the wall breaking down..

"No! Father look! I can clean them now too!" Rikuto exclaimed excitedly running over to the tapestry. With a heavy stomp, Rikuto readied himself then slammed both fists into the bottom of the tapestry bending all of the earth, dirt, and dust out of it, making the art piece look even newer than when he bent his way into the room.

"Congratulations, Love," Izumi said, rolling up the report from her father placing it on the coffee table. She shuffled the groggy twins on her lap to sit more comfortably so she could sit up and look at Rikuto properly.

"And look! I can already bend metal!" Rikuto said bending a bronze torch fixture on the wall into a blob, shaping it into a complex geometric figure between his hands, before placing it back in the wall in its original form with screw fixtures and all.

"Woah!" Takeo exclaimed enthusiastically, jumping to his feet.

"Hey, I heard we were going to be fed when we returned. Is that still happening?" Toph asked loudly.

Masaru, Takeo, Rikuto and Izumi turned to face the old earthbender.

"Yes, Mother, I'll go tell the chef to set the table now that we're all here," Masaru said, running off quickly. Toph slid her foot across the ground, assessing the damage then, restored all of the walls and cleaned up every room she had Rikuto break through with a wave of her wrist, and sat down next to Izumi.

"May I hold them?" Toph asked, extending her arms towards the twins.

"Sure, Aunt Toph," Izumi said, passing over Tetsuya then Tatsuya.

"Hey, little guys," Toph said, sitting back on the red velvet lounger feeling the two year olds' faces while Sasuke took the opportunity to climb onto Izumi's lap. "How are you doing?"

The twins rubbed their eyes and blinked at Toph, but she didn't respond like their mother. Tatsuya got scared and crawled back to Izumi, climbing all over Sasuke to get his mother's skin. Izumi shuffled the boys around and situated one of them on each knee.

"Izumi," Toph said slowly with a heaviness in the back of her throat.

"Yes, Aunt Toph?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving my son attention and love, for making him feel worth something, and for making all of your children feel worth something. It is something I didn't know how to do when I needed to, when _he_ needed me to, when _he_ was young." Toph confessed with what looked like tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she held onto Tetsuya with one hand on his back, and one hand on his belly, feeling his heart beating. "I commend you, Fire Princess."

"Thank you, Aunt Toph," Izumi said, smiling as a warm, yet strange feeling came over her being. It was unusual for any Beifong to show any sort of emotion as such an act was seen as displaying weakness. It was even rarer still, for the original Beifong to do such a thing, and yet here she was, expressing gratitude and nearly… crying.

"And thank you for these," Toph said, lifting up Tatsuya onto his feet.

Izumi laughed. "The twins?" Izumi asked, nestling Sasuke's head under her chin while he curled up against her comfortably.

"All of the grandchildren. Would you believe it? I BEAT SUGAR QUEEN TO GRANDBABIES!" Toph exclaimed, laughing maniacally and startling Tetsuya who also tried to crawl back to Izumi. "Bitch owes me six thousand yuans!" Toph added, snatching Tetsuya before he could make it back to his mother.

"Aunt Toph! Please watch your language around _**my**_ children!" Izumi gasped while Takeo and Rikuto covered their mouths and laughed at their paternal grandmother's crassness.

"Eh! They'll hear it all eventually!" Toph dismissed, starting to carry Tetsuya away as Izumi followed with Tatsuya on one hip and Sasuke on the other, not wanting to let any of her other children out of her sight with Toph around.

"Table's set by the way! I can feel it with my feet!" Toph said heading for the dining room without any need for invitations or directions to her destination.

Izumi took a deep breath and followed, nodding for Takeo and Rikuto to come to eat.

* * *

Dinner was a tense and silent affair for a long while before Toph broke the silence, addressing Masaru directly. "Kid, I can feel your angsty breathing from all the way over here. Just say what's on your mind already!"

Izumi looked up. Lin would have yelled back at Toph. Called her out on her insensitivity, but Masaru was different. The young man stood and walked over to his estranged mother. Toph pushed her chair out and turned to him "looking" at him with her feet, her face scrunched up with a an expression of bewilderment.

All of the children watched as their father got down on his knees and bowed before her, touching his head to her filthy bare feet.

"Mother, I just— I wanted to apologize. I know it must be hard for you to come after all these years and see—," Masaru began to say.

"It's not really—," Toph shrugged, trying to bat him away but he continued.

"But you wouldn't even acknowledge me on the docks. Even now, you won't even say my name. Just hear me, please. I am so— SOOO— sorry for running away. I am sorry for rejecting the Earth Kingdom half of myself that I could not escape. I'm sorry for refusing to meet sooner. I understand if you never wanted to speak with me again or engage, but…I guess… I just wanted you to know that I was always afraid. I was afraid of hurting you with my flames that I thought it would be best, if would be more safe for all of us, if I were to leave… I understand if you hate me but—".

Izumi watched as Toph's expression soured with every word her son said in genuine grief.

Toph was torn between feeling pity, annoyance, and anger towards the boy, but she also felt guilty.

Izumi wanted to intervene but knew it was not her place to do so.

"MASARU LEE!" Toph yelled finally, grabbing Masaru by his shoulder, and yanking him up to his feet again, standing as well. Even up on the tip of her toes, the earthbender's head barely reached the tip of her grown son's nose. "Quit groveling before me in front of your sons! What kind of example are you setting for your babies? Did Sparky turn you into a wuss or was it that Gloomy Lady who sighs a lot. Or maybe it was this little princess—" Toph said thrusting her finger in Izumi's direction aggressively. "—who turned you into a baby!" Toph exhaled and calmed down a bit. "I never hated you, Masaru. I knew you needed to go to find your own way and I knew that someday, when you were ready, we could try to have a relationship again.

"My own parents kept me hidden from the world. They say they did it to protect me, thinking that I was helpless, tiny, fragile, and weak. I know what it is like to be caged in some fancy mansion with no one who understands your ability. It hurts. I knew if you stayed with us in Gaoling, you too would suffer that same isolation and pain as I did. As much as I missed you and wanted you back with me, I didn't take you back because I wanted you to be happy. And when I saw a four-year-old Zumzu strike you with lightning and you redirect it at five-years-old, I knew this is where you needed to be, with your element, in the Fire Nation. I knew you would thrive here with your chosen companion and that you'd be happy. You had no need for me anymore. I could not be more proud of the man that you have become, but at the same time I know I can take no credit for any of it. I'm not mad at you for not coming home. I was mad at myself for not making you feel loved enough and safe enough to do so." Toph told her grown son.

Masaru threw his arms around her.

Toph recoiled at the physical contact as if she had been assaulted. "Alright," Toph said hesitantly returning the embrace, patting her son on the back awkwardly. "You can let go now."

Masaru remained holding her, but smiled. "You didn't grow up with much physical contact, did you?" Masaru asked, leaning his chin on her head.

"None at all. Frankly, I'm surprised you _did_. Never thought Little-Miss-Sighs-a-Lot was capable of feeling," Toph laughed, forcibly removing Masaru from her. "Now, if you ever fall to your knees like that again, I'm going to slap you. You are my son, not my subordinate. There's no need for all this— formality!"

"Yes, Mother," Masaru said saluting, making his family laugh before returning to his seat at the head of the table.

"Grandma Toph, what is the Earth Kingdom like?" Rikuto asked.

"The Earth Kingdom? Hmmmmmm… which part of it?"

"All of it?"

"Well you're going to have to be a little more specific. The Earth Kingdom is MASSIVE, and diverse. There are deadly, dry, deserts that stretch for thousands of leagues, swamps just as vast as mysterious… cities infested with Dai Li agents who do nothing but keep secrets from their populace and keep their populace from speaking..." Toph said to them as if she were starting a horror story of sorts. Izumi and Masaru laughed.

"But... I'm afraid the remainder of my description will have to wait for bedtime, though. We've got company," Toph announces pointing her arm through the open doorway to the dining room at the Masaru estate.

Everyone looked in that direction

"Mother! Father!" Izumi stood and bowed to them.

"Oh get up, girl! Come on, sparky, you really make your child bow to you in her own home?"

"It's simply customary," Zuko replied. "And she knows her place in our society."

Toph scowled, not liking the sound of that at all.

"Don't worry. We still treat her like our daughter," Mai said, kissing Izumi on the forehead before pulling up a seat besides Tetsuya.

"Please forgive the intrusion, but we wanted to see our old friend and…check up on things." Zuko said awkwardly.

"Don't worry, I haven't killed any of our grandkids yet," Toph replied wiping her mouth, sliding her chair back and kicking her dirt coated feet up on the table, garnering reactions of shock and amusement from the three grandsons sitting across from her.

"That is… much appreciated," Mai said, sitting by Tatsuya at Masaru's end of the table not at all surprised by Toph's behavior.

"Grandfather, is your real name Sparky?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"I—Uh—-" Zuko stuttered. Toph broke into a fit of laughter.

"No, his name is not 'Sparky!' Why do you ask, Suke?" Mai asked as she helped Masaru tend to Tatsuya's food covered face.

"Because Grandma Toph calls him sparky and adults always call each other by the first name even though we are not allowed to," Sasuke replied.

"It's just a nickname, sweet love. We call you Suke even though your name is Sasuke," Mai replied with an unamused face.

"Why are you guys always so serious?" Toph asked, elbowing Zuko playfully.

"Because we've had to be for so long, it's hard to remember a time when we were otherwise," Mai explained not looking away from Tatsuya.

"What? You mean you don't remember a time when you sat through the greatest Ember Island Players play to date? Or when you sent a damn combustionbender after us?" Toph asked, sarcastically aghast.

"Grandfather did WHAT?" the grandchildren chorused, their eyes wide.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"That incident was a LONG time ago and hardly relevant anymore now that we are allies," Zuko interjected, sensitive about revealing the details of his troubled past to his grandchildren while they were still so young.

"Allies, are we now? What happened to being old friends?" Toph joked taking a sip of cactus juice, tilting her chair back on its rear legs.

"I— sorry. But you know what I meant!" Zuko replied frustratedly.

"I also heard rumors from a certain person's sister about certain someone trashing some admiral's son's house during a party after a niiiiiice therapy session on the beach—"

Mai dabbed delicately at her mouth with a napkin. "To be fair, the guy deserved it. He was an arrogant little prick who thought he was hotter than the center of a magma chamber of a volcano. Though I must say, it was a great cap to our therapy session by the campfire. Exercise always does well for the body."

"Just because your grandparents used to semi-regularly engage in destructive behavior in their youth does not make it in any way okay for you to do the same," Izumi said pointedly to her boys.

"Says the little girl who enlisted my son to help her concoct wildfyre to set ablaze in all the bathrooms of the royal palace back in the day." Toph said, twirling her chopsticks around carelessly with her toes.

"Wait! Mom you did what?!" Rikuto exclaimed as Izumi turned away, red with embarrassment.

"And in the _palace_?" Takeo asked.

"What were you even doing in the _palace_?" Sasuke added.

"She was a servant," Mai answered quickly for Izumi. It wasn't a total lie. Izumi _did_ serve the country as Fire Princess.

"Wait, why was Father in the palace as well? Was it because Grandma Toph is famous?"

"Yeah, something like that," Toph said with a nod and a wink at Zuko.

"Was he a diplomat?" Takeo asked. "Before he became a businessman?"

"Father, does that mean you got to meet the Fire Lord?" Sasuke asked.

"I did," Masaru replied, not looking in Zuko's direction.

"Well? What's he like?" Takeo asked.

"Like as second father to me," Masaru answered.

Toph closed her eyes, removed her feet from the table, and walked towards Mai.

"Would you care to join me?" Toph asked the Fire Lady.

"Of course," Mai said ruffling Tatsuya's hair before following the Earthbender.

Once they were gone, Masaru turned to Zuko.

"Was that statement out of line?" Masaru asked, worried for his mother.

"Not at all," Zuko replied. "Don't worry about your mom. She's a lot stronger than she seems, which is to say, unbelievably strong."

"I'm sure!"

"Wait!" Sasuke said suddenly. "Something doesn't seem right!"

"What is it, Love?" Izumi asked.

"If Mother was a servant in the palace, and she and Father lit fires in ALL of the bathrooms in the _Palace_ , why wasn't she exiled? Couldn't such actions be interpreted as attempted assassination of somebody?" Sasuke asked.

Both Takeo and Rikuto looked between their parents, confusion evident in their furrowed brows.

Izumi looked to Masaru to respond. Fire Lady Mai was always so much better and faster at coming up with the right lies.

"Your mother and I have been friends since we were children. Since the Fire Lord was kind with me, he was kind with your mother as well. And showed _her_ mercy," Masaru answered with a wink.

Both Zuko and Izumi relaxed a little. The boys were smart. While the adults were grateful, they knew it was going to be a long evening.

* * *

In the garden, Toph jumped onto a stone bridge railing just like she liked to do when she was a child, treating it as a balance beam while Mai walked normally, over the main crossing of the stream. At first they said nothing, just walking, until Toph reached the end of the bridge, jumped off, and stopped walking.

"I wanted to thank you, Mai for everything you've done; taking Saru in when he was only five and raising him to adulthood. You didn't have to do all of that. I only asked that you make sure he didn't die, but you… you've made him into a man... given him a friend in Izumi, and you've let your daughter love him even though in doing so, you've risked your family's life."

"What do you mean?" Mai said, looking quizzically at her earthbending friend. "What we did is what we would have done for any one of our friends. It only seemed right, all things considered. He was a firebender, and there is no better place for one than at the palace of the Fire Nation. Besides, you know we always did want a sibling for Izumi, and couldn't. Masaru was like a son to us, and have since the day we found him in that alley near the harbor. He was just a child and he and Izumi got along swimmingly. We were never in any real danger…"

"You were. Several times. I've been traveling a lot as of late… In the swamp, I- I've seen things. My son and and your daughter. And things that the Fire Sages have done to them, and intend to do…"

"Intend to...?"

"In the swamp, we see people we've lost, people we've loved. They never truly leave us. Time becomes no more than an illusion. As for us, if we look closely enough, we can see everything."

"Everything?" Mai said, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Everything. My children, Lin, Su, and Saru, You and your daughter, Twinkle-Toes, Sugar Queen and his kiddos. It saddens me to see them all suffering."

"Can the suffering be avoided if you already know what's coming?" Mai asked.

"I am afraid not… a lot of it is… unfortunately necessary," Toph said, grimacing. "Avoiding the pain, I've found, only worsens such suffering. It was that running, that became my downfall. Earthbenders are supposed to face their problems head on, yet somehow I forgot and in doing so, lost my son and both of my daughters. You Fire Nation Royals, have managed to keep yourselves together even with all of your dancing, but the time is quickly approaching when that will need to change regardless of the consequences."

Mai gazed down at the grass as they blew in the cool night breeze, processing all that Toph said and reflecting on the life she lead with her husband, her daughter, and her ward, and wondering, what it was that the Fire Sages were planning.


	22. Sokka's Return

Takeo and Rikuto were sparring in the courtyard with Toph's "supervision". Masaru was at work and Izumi got the day off from her father to help watch the twins.

"Rikuto! Remember what I told you! Everything stable is built on what?" Toph yelled at her young pupil.

"A foundation!" Rikuto replied. He stepped forward and slid a knife hand to the side, sliding Takeo's front foot back into his back foot, narrowing his older brother's stance, knocking him off balance, then punched the ground up knocking him over.

"I win!" Rikuto said jumping up in the air. Just then, Toph kicked up a stone and knocked the boy down effortlessly. Izumi almost protested, half standing, wanting so much to run to check on her baby, for Toph hit Rikuto far harder than Takeo ever did in sparring.

"Victory over one opponent doesn't end a war!" Toph reminded the boy. "Both of you up again!"

"Alright," Takeo said doing a kip up. _Typical firebender,_ thought Toph. _So light and springy. Very much like airbenders, with more will and energy._ Kuto remained on the ground. Izumi tensed from where she sat watching from the bench on the edge of the courtyard.

"Kuto, don't be a wuss like your father can be," Toph groaned.

"I'm not being a wuss. I am thinking," Rikuto replied, curling his fingers into the earth.

"That's where your mistakes lay: in the thinking part of the fight. You have to be fast, always ready! Learn your opponent's technique and then trust your instincts!" Toph said raising another rock silently into the air as the boy remained with his head down to the ground. Toph chucked towards Rikuto who dodged it doing a sweep kick he'd seen his firebending older brothers do often, spinning his grandma, and then sliding her feet to the side, right out from under her.

"Nice one, Kuto!" Takeo praised.

"No leader can avoid a mutiny. It will always come eventually!" Rikuto said, jumping onto his feet again, bouncing lightly like his firebending brothers, much to Toph's chagrin. She would have prefered a more flat-footed earthbending grandson, but she would have to make do with what she had, since neither Lin nor Su showed any interest in settling down and conceiving, or even speaking with Toph.

* * *

Sasuke stood but moved towards Izumi for some reason instead of congratulating Rikuto on his new achievements with Takeo and Toph.

"What is it, love?" Izumi asked, pressing her lips to his forehead, patting his bottom affectionately as he tried to snuggle up against her body.

"I am never going to bend anything, will I?" Sasuke asked in a barely audible whisper as he settled on her knee.

Izumi moved his growing black hair out of his sweet, innocent little face.

"What makes you say that?" Izumi asked, unsure what to make of the child's feelings.

"I mean, I am already six years old, and nothing has happened to me. Not even inadvertent bending," Sasuke replied, looking down at his swinging feet. "Even Tatsu warms his own bath after you leave," Sasuke added.

"If you do or don't bend an element makes no difference to me, Sasuke," Izumi whispered touching her forehead to his.

"But you and Father are both firebenders, and you are always SOOO happy whenever Iroh or Keyo or Kuto bend anything!" Sasuke said.

"We are proud of their efforts, yes, and take pride in all of their accomplishments, but that pride has nothing to do with their bending." Izumi told him.

"Really?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Yes. As a mother, it makes me happy whenever you or any of your siblings try something new and succeed at whatever it is you do, as long as it doesn't include harming anybody. You don't have to be a bender to make me proud of you. My mother, and your father's father were BOTH non-benders, and were still amazing human beings. My non-bending mother bested over a dozen highly trained prison guards at the legendary Boiling Rock when she was only fifteen years old and your father's non-bending father invented a machine that revolutionized crystal mining and disrupted an ENTIRE industry for the better when he was only sixteen. Everyone is different, Sasuke. Your destiny is not to be like your father or like me or any of your siblings or grandparents. Your destiny is what you make it out to be. If you are a non-bender, so be it. If you're a late bender, don't worry. There is no deadline for any of these things. You just have to take what you get, make the best of your circumstances and opportunities, look at the silver lining, and try find happiness in your life." Izumi said to her son.

"Hm…" Sasuke nodded, albeit skeptically, and leaned his head on the base of her neck above her chest. "But how will I protect myself when my brothers move to a different class or school?"

Izumi weighed her options. As much as her mother loved the grandchildren, she would never teach a boy knife throwing. The Kyoshi warriors had a similar philosophy but made the acception for Sokka of the Southern Water tribe after he begged them to on his hands and knees. Then there was Sokka who could possibly teach Sasuke something. "Sasuke," Izumi said holding him tight against her body as if her arms were a shield or a blanket for her baby. "Have you heard of Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe?"

"The boomerang guy in Team Avatar?" Sasuke asked innocently

"He's more than just a boomerang guy. He is a master swordsman and a former student of the legendary Master Piandao of the Fire Nation. He also happens to be a brilliant inventor, an excellent diplomat, politician, and a nonbender."

"Hm..." Sasuke sighed, shifting on her knee as if he were hoping her body could swallow him up again, so that he didn't have to see his brothers earth and firebending.

"Would you like to meet him?" Izumi asked.

"Huh? But isn't he like... famous? Isn't he busy? I'm just some non-bending, insignificant kid in the Fire Nation!"

"Sasuke," Izumi said softly. "Do you know who I am?"

"My mother?" Sasuke guessed. Was this a trick question?

"Do you know my name?" Izumi asked.

Sasuke thought for a moment, trying to recall. "Sometimes, Father calls you Zumi," he said.

"I am _Princess_ Izumi, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai. If you would like to meet Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, I can make it happen. I can make almost anything happen. Maybe I can even get him to consent to teaching you some swordsmanship if you ask him first nicely."

"Really? You can do that?" Sasuke asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"I can and will do _anything_ for my baby," Izumi replied with a warm smile, sensing Saru standing on the catwalk above them. She could feel the heat of his heart and his love for her at a range of a half mile. She could find him by his thermal signature. Like Toph could with her seismic sense, Izumi could see many things most people wouldn't believe.

* * *

Masaru went alone on his way home from work to the port to receive Sokka off the Water Tribe.

"You!" Sokka exclaimed ruffling his slicked back hair. "Haven't seen you in what? At LEAST fifteen years, since you and Zumzu were dating!"

Masaru laughed. "Yes, you saw me a couple times at the Palace, then again when I was still in the army. I also made a donation to the Republic City Library, and my army regiment helped fill it in one of our peace-keeping missions."

"What a good little Fire Nation boy you are!" Sokka cooed, walking with his arm around the younger man's shoulders. "So, how's the Princess doing?"

"Well, I'm pleased to report," Saru replied, beaming with a little more pride than a friend would show when answering the question.

"You together again now again?" Sokka asked knowingly.

"Not- exactly." Masaru answered, realizing his mistake. "She's still married to Hisoki. I'm just helping out… from time to time… with various things." Masaru replied quickly. "Like getting you from the docks and… and…" Spirits! Why did Masaru have to get so flustered when speaking to people of his mother's generation.

Sokka cocked his head to the side. There hadn't been much in the papers about the husband of the Princess in years. Then out of nowhere, Sokka received a private letter from the Princess telling him in great depth about a little non-bender boy in dire need of inspiration to keep living among prodigious earth and firebending siblings. Then once back in the Fire Nation, Sokka is greeted not my the Princess, but her ex-beau who couldn't help but to speak of her so fondly as they made their way to this little boy's house who happened to be none other than Masaru's own estate.

"I'll show you to your guest room and then find the boy and let him give you the tour, if that's alright," Masaru informed Sokka as they crossed the threshold of the grand estate belonging to the Owner of Earthen Fire Refineries' Fire Nation Division.

Sokka followed the young man through grand halls and galleries to the resident quarter where there were little evidence of any sort of child proofing. Suits of armor from throughout the ages, weapons and all lined one of the many halls, and sharp wall decorations decorated many others.

"I was informed the boy is six?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then where does he keep his toys, assuming he has some, that is," Sokka asked with slight worry.

"When he is using them, anywhere and everywhere. When he's not playing, he stows them away properly." Masaru replied.

 _So neat these Fire Nation folks_ , thought Sokka as they walked deeper still into the grand estate.

"Here you are? Home sweet home! I hope it is to your liking. I wanted to make it comfortable. Some coworkers recommended furs. If there is ANYTHING you dislike or need please do not hesitate to let me know, and we can most likely provide it or produce it almost immediately," Masaru said nervously.

"Thank you, Masaru," Sokka said with a warm smile.

Just then, he noticed a little human peeking out from behind Masaru's leg.

"Hey, little guy," Sokka said, bending down. Masaru turned and saw his six-year-old standing there wide-eyed and curious. He ducked behind Masaru's leg, hiding from Sokka.

"Don't be shy, Suke. Great Uncle Sokka is _really_ nice!" a familiar, melodic voice with a Fire Nation accent said.

Sokka stood and saw Izumi standing behind the boy and Man.

"Princess," Sokka said with tears stinging his eyes. Izumi pushed past Masaru and ran into Sokka's open arms. "You were just a girl, twenty years of age, the last time I saw you!"

"I know," Izumi replied, releasing him.

"So, is this the boy? Sasuke?" Sokka asked, bending down again.

"Yes," Izumi replied, looking at him with a completely pure look of love in her eyes.

"I have a gift for you," Sokka said, pulling something out of his bags and offering it with two open hands to the young boy.

The boy craned his neck to see, but still didn't move forward.

"It's only wood. It won't hurt you or your siblings too badly, as long as you don't jam it into their mouths or eyes," Sokka said good naturedly.

Masaru patted the timid young boy on the back.

Sasuke looked up at his father and then slowly walked forward and held out two open hands. When Sokka transferred the sword, the six year old bowed low, touching his forehead to the wooden sword as a gesture of utmost respect.

"He's too polite, Masaru," Sokka said standing, satisfied. "He acts more like a little Fire Nation Prince than a child."

"He's no prince though. Just my boy!" Masaru said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sasuke looked up and smiled at his father.

"Of course he isn't," Sokka replied, not convinced. He glanced at Izumi. "But I have a feeling he will be some day."

"Councilman Sokka?" the young boy asked.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"If you're tired now, can we start tomorrow morning?" Sasuke asked.

"And if I am not tired?" Sokka asked with an inviting smile sensing the child's eagerness.

"Then can we start now?" Sasuke asked even quieter, avoiding eye contact with all of the adults.

"You really don't have to, Uncle-" Izumi began to say.

"No, I want to. I appreciate his ambition," Sokka said to the Princess. He drew two swords. One was a wooden sword he intended to use to teach the boy parrying, and the other, his famed space sword that Toph helped him find shortly after the end of the war.

"This, I will use with you, and this," He said unsheathing the space sword and held the blade before the boy so he could see.

"Will always be in the room or space where we train, so you can remember your goal, and see something like what you will forge some day, when you're ready for your own sword," Sokka said resheathing the sword before the curious lad could touch it and potentially cut his finger.

"Thank you," Izumi mouthed.

Sokka merely smiled and offered the boy his hand. Sasuke took one finger, and lead him away. Masaru stepped aside, allowing them to pass before turning to his lover.

"Sokka knows about us," Masaru said.

"It _IS_ kind of obvious to anyone who is allowed into this home," Izumi replied, shrugging.

* * *

The six-year-old boy worked tirelessly with the wooden sword, determined to get every motion just right. Sokka watched the little lad's determined gaze follow every movement of Sokka's body. He mimicked every change exactly, and never once, let his mind wander away. They started with basic drills then moved onto conditioning and finally, forms.

"Do you think you could learn with your left hand as well?" Sokka asked.

"Like Grandfather?" Sasuke asked excitedly.

"Well, more like me, just ambidextrous. Equally proficient at using both arms. Your father is trained in a very special type of dual sword where each blade is treated as half as a whole and always used together. It is very useful to overwhelm your opponent in battle, but if one arm becomes disabled, it becomes exceedingly difficult to continue fighting," Sokka explained.

"This way," Sokka tossed his wooden sword up and caught it with his other hand, twirling it behind his back and catching it with a different grip. "You can continue after your dominant hand has been put out of commission and surprise everybody with a sneak attack!" Sokka said enthusiastically, dropping his sword, grabbing the little boy, and carrying him around like he were flying. Sasuke screamed and laughed.

"So, you up for it?" Sokka asked.

Sasuke tossed his own wooden sword up and spun once and caught it with his left hand and looked up with a smile.

"You're already a natural!" Sokka exclaimed messing his hair affectionately.

Sasuke beamed and continued watching and repeating, absorbing every demonstration like a little sponge.

Even after the grueling hour-long lesson, Sasuke was still practicing. Sokka watched for a short while as the boy trained on his own before going to speak with the Princess Izumi of the Fire Nation.

As expected, he found her standing on the balcony above, having watched intently the entire time. Sokka greeted her with a smile and an arm around her tense shoulders.

"He's yours, isn't he?" Sokka confirmed.

"How can you tell?" Izumi asked, leaning with her forearms on the railing.

"He has that same fire in his eyes that you always did when you were learning a new bending or defense technique. That determination, that calculating look you get when solving some mystery. He looks at his sword as an engineer would a mathematical equation, or a certain Chief Of Police would a complicated case, or a certain Princess would look at a map of her great nation," Sokka said watching the boy practicing.

Izumi looked closer and smiled. "He does, doesn't he?"

"Yes. You must be proud."

"You have no idea."

"Thank you, Uncle Sokka," Izumi replied.

"I think I do. The way you look at him is the exact same way Mai loo

ks at you, every day. You may not know realize it, but we're all so proud of you, little Zumju," Sokka said pulling her tight against him, messing her regally tied hair.

"Thank you, Uncle," Izumi whispered leaning in, not even bothering to worry about her appearance when at home.

"No thank YOU, for being an incredible mother to these incredible little human beings."


	23. Hisoki's Return (EXP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: the Bastard Came Back  
> \- Non-Con/Rape  
> \- Graphic Description of a Really Violent (but satisfying) Death

Sasuke, had a new sword, Rikuto had an Earthbending Master, Takeo was enjoying school, the twins had just begun firebending, and Masaru had his mother back. Everything felt… perfect. Izumi smiled as she emerged from the secret tunnel. She looked around quickly and then crossed the courtyard to the palace wearing her casual robes. She changed into something more presentable then headed for her office to see if her father had left anything else for her to do when she was intercepted by one of the palace messengers.

"Princess Izumi," the messenger said bowing to her. He looked paler than a ghost when he turned his head up from the bow.

"Is everything alright?" Izumi asked, suddenly overcome with worry. "Are my mother and father-"

"They're fine. But your husband."

"My husband?" Izumi asked. The words felt strange in her ears and her mouth. She had not heard those words spoken or had any need to say them for the past twelve years.

"Your husband," the messenger repeated, his voice quivering. "Hisoki- he is waiting for you in the Chamber of Gold."

Izumi felt sick for a moment as memories of a life she tried so hard to forget came flooding back to the front of her head. "Where is my father?"

"He has not yet been informed…"

"It has been twelve years!"

"I know, Princess!"

"How do you know it is actually him?" Izumi asked.

"He knew the palace like the back of his hand, and had knowledge of you that nobody except your husband should know," the messenger said. "Forgive me, Princess."

"Tell my father to meet me in the Chamber of Gold," Izumi ordered.

"Yes, Princess,"

"Hurry!"

"Yes, Princess!" the messenger said, sprinting down the halls.

Izumi went to see for herself. She debated taking a side route to a balcony few people knew how to get to to try to sneak a peek before confronting the man that sometimes still haunted her nightmares and ruined her daydreams. She debated climbing into the vents and killing him from above with lightning. She debated nailing him to the wall with darts, paralyzing him with the same dark lightning that he used on her during their bedding ceremony and then cutting him open from the inside out with her dual swords. She imagined so many ways to eliminate him from her life stealthily, yet somehow, foolishly she found herself simply walking through the front doors to the massive decadently decorated room to see indeed the man himself standing there at the front of the room, eyeing the smaller throne installed there, donning a nice, shiny new suit, and a haircut that no doubt, framed his handsome, chiseled face. But.. he looked.. Older. He was only five years older than she now, so barely forty, and had gone completely grey.

"Hello, Princess," he said softly, turning to face her. His face! His eyes were encircled by shadows, his cheeks gaunt, his lips pale as if he were already dying. But… as long as he lived, she was bound to him.

Izumi blinked, speechless, afraid. She couldn't say anything.

"Have you replaced me already?" he asked knowingly, narrowing her eyes.

Izumi just stood, keeping her distance with her mouth slightly agape. Her breathing and heart rate increased.

"I saw you smiling as you crossed the courtyard today. I must say, I have never seen you so happy before," Hisoki continued walking towards her.

"Hisoki-" Izumi gasped backing away from him. "It's been twelve years…"

"So you have replaced me, I understand…"

"No! I never did remarry I just-"

"Don't lie to me, Bitch!" he yelled striking her across the face.

_He's mad! He is not Hisoki! He's an imposter! He must be! But his voice was the same-_

"Well I'm here now, and I'd like my wife back," he said grabbing her with one hand by her shoulder, close to her neck.

Izumi circled her hand, breaking his grip on her, leapt back and to the side. "It's been twelve years! Twelve years without a scrap of news! You don't get to come back and just resume whatever _that_ was that we had!" Izumi yelled.

"I thought you'd make this difficult, so I guess I'll just have to end you first," he said firing a strange white fire that she had never seen before in her direction.

Izumi broke the flame and shot back with blue. _Father! Where are you?!_

"The messenger is mine! A great actor, if I don't say a myself. Though, I must confess, I was surprised by how quickly you came. I thought you'd be a little more afraid," Hisoki confessed. "Or perhaps it is simply your foolishness. You've been relaxing far too much as of late, _Princess_ Izumi. And now you're out of practice, I see. Been breeding?" he taunted.

Izumi dodged a blast of white fire and tried her throwing knives but they melted in his flames. She dove forward and kicked up a tornado of blue flames to deter him, but he leapt right through nearly landing on top of her if she didn't roll to the side in time. She needed to exit and alert the guard of the infiltration. She switched to defensive maneuvers only and made her way to the window as deftly as she could.

"You cannot escape me, my dear Izumi!" Hisoki yelled as she leapt out of the raised window in a blast of blue flames. She felt something latch around her ankle and pull her back into the room, throwing her into the ground of the Chamber of Gold.

She rolled and checked her ankle but there was nothing there but an indent as if a shackle had cuffed her. That instant fraction of a second she took to investigate was enough for Hisoki to close the distance between them. She reached out with a charged dark hand to paralyze him, but he was faster. A flash of light flew over Hisoki's shoulder throwing her hand back. She felt her shoulder crack out of place and cried out in pain.

He rolled her onto her stomach, and she saw a lump of mangled gold securing her wrists to the floor of the Chamber. Izumi tried to push him off of her but found her ankles fixed to the ground by what felt like stone. She superheated the rock and melted the gold and broke her ankles and wrists free of the bindings, but before she could push him off, he planted a hand on the base of her spine and disabled her completely with an excruciating dose of dark lightning. She couldn't scream and couldn't move. All she could do was lay there, listening to him as he tore and burned through the back of her dress. All she could do was wait and watch her vision become blurry as tears filled her eyes and feel as he forced himself inside of her unwilling body.

"You won't enjoy this," he growled thrusting. "I am am not the broken man that left you twelve years ago, and I will not allow this end quickly."

He didn't kill her though. No. He was too weak. He was too foolish. He fell asleep, snoring beside her on the floor of the Chamber of Gold.

Izumi reached inside herself searching for that inner fire that saved her in the Si Wong Desert. Save her here, save her now! Please. She felt her body become hot. She saw a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face turn blue and she knew she was free. She wiggled her fingers then wiggled her toes, then blasted her way out of those rock bindings. With nothing but loathing and death on her mind she towered over his limp body.

"You have been dead to me for years, and now you will be dead for the nation as well, officially, finally. I, Fire Princess Izumi, will personally see you destroyed. And I won't make the mistake you did by hesitating to end my enemies," she said to his unresponsive form, raising two fingers aimed at his body. The electricity jolted him awake. His screams echoed through the Chamber of Gold as she increased the intensity of her lightning, watching it scorch his body mercilessly. The smell of burning flesh filled the Chamber of Gold as Hisoki was barbecued living. She watched his eyes boil off and his tongue dry out and char in his open mouth. By the time she removed her hand, he was barely recognizable. She took a deep breath and her blue hair returned to black and she let out a sigh of relief. Finally. Free. Finally. Peace.

Then she went to find the nearest guard, forcing tears to form in her eyes. "An assassin took my husband from me," she whimpered. The guard summoned others to inspect the Chamber of Gold and ushered Izumi straight to the throne room, to her father.

"He took one look at her burnt clothes and dismissed the meeting he was in, ordering everyone to leave.

"I'll take her, thank you-" Zuko said dismissing the last guard. "Zumi- what happened?"

"Hisoki came back," Izumi whispered in his ear as he held her against his body. "He came back, and he raped me, and…" she choked. "I killed him father. I did it with lightning."

* * *

Three months later Izumi was crying in the bathroom when Masaru returned home from work.

"I'm pregnant with HIS child, Saru," she informed him.

"How do you know?" Masaru asked, face fraught with worry.

"I know you were on a business trip for the three weeks leading up to the rape, and I know you didn't touch me for the entire week after your return because I was so shaken, so afraid of contact, and I know I then left for Republic City for four weeks. The timing," Izumi replied. "It has to be his. I'm so sorry."

"Izumi, don't apologize. You had no choice. He was a monster, Izumi. He was a monster and now he is gone."

"But his child lives on! It is growing inside of me!"

"It is still just a child. Like Iroh, it cannot not be blamed for the crimes of his or her father. You of all people should understand that after all your father went through with Ozai," Masaru reminded Izumi.

She relaxed only slightly.

"I guess you're right," she said sadly.

"I will love this child just like the rest of our children, because she is made by YOU, Izumi, and I love you," he said holding her hands while she sobbed in his arms. "And I know you will love it too, for it will still be half made out of you."

Izumi sniffled and nodded. "I'll try," she promised.

* * *

The next day, the Palace hosted a state funeral for Hisoki. Izumi and Iroh both had to wear all white in their state of mourning to honor Izumi's late husband whom they told the world was murdered by assassins on his first night back in the capital after a long journey he underwent to discover the secrets of firebending. Izumi had to stand beside fifteen year old Iroh and feign devastation while her father gave a eulogy falsely praising the monster that haunted her dreams. Even Hisoki's parents were allowed in the capital for the first time since being banished for condoning Hisoki's behavior on their wedding night. They stood on the other side of Zuko, away from Iroh and Izumi, thankfully. Izumi avoided making eye contact with Hana at all costs, afraid the truth of her murder and lack of remorse may be evident on her face.

"...but his memory lives on through his wife, his son, and his unborn second child…" Zuko finished waving a hand towards his pregnant daughter. Izumi lifted a hand to her face as tears escaped her eyes on the only appropriate day for a Princess to cry. Iroh wrapped his arms around his mother in a display of love and vulnerability before the entire nation.

"There, there, Mother. We'll be okay. We'll always have Uncle Saru," Iroh whispered, inaudible to everyone except her.

"Oh Iroh!" Izumi cried. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize. You couldn't have known the assassins would come that night!" Iroh replied holding her, believing every detail of the official account of the death of Hisoki.

Izumi felt guilty for Iroh. He had been away at boot camp for the United Forces Army when Hisoki came. By the time news of his father's return reached the Prince, Hisoki was already dead. Iroh would grow up knowing near to nothing of his father, and the monster he became… and the unborn child in Izumi's womb, would know even less.

* * *

That night at Masaru's Estate, Toph sought out the princess.

"Hey, Kid," Toph said to Izumi as she took off her white funeral robes.

"Please, Aunt Toph, I really am not in the mood to talk to anybody,"

"Then don't talk. Just shut up and listen," Toph replied inviting herself in, sitting on the bed her own son shared with the princess.

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Aunt Toph." Izumi said impatiently. "I just want to go to bed."

"It won't be lengthy. Trust me. I just wanted to say, all of this… pain… It will be so worth it in the end."

Izumi eyed her suspiciously, then shook her head. No, the old blind earthbender would never pull shit like this… like… making Hisoki reappear.


	24. A Princess is Born

**149AG**

"She's weakening," the new healer said working the water over the Princess's swollen belly. Akira was gone.

"Izumi, Zumi! You must keep trying!" Mai said holding her daughter's hand.

"I- can't," Izumi replied weakly, her grip on her parents' hands, nonexistent.

"Bring Saru here!" Mai ordered one of the midwives.

"But- he is not family-" the midwife protested. "Per tradition-"

"DO YOU DARE DEFY MY ORDERS WHILE MY CHILD IS DYING?!" Mai shrieked at the midwife. "FUCK TRADITION! FUCK IT ALL! IF YOU WANT THE CROWN PRINCESS TO LIVE, YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, OR BE SLAIN!"

The young woman bolted from the room as Mai and Zuko each clutched one of Izumi's hands.

Masaru ran in.

"Get ready to catch-" Masaru said placing one hand on Izumi's sweaty forehead, and one on her swollen belly.

"Sir?" the healer gasped, unfamiliar with Masaru's methods as Master Akira was. Unfortunately, the old healer passed away over a year ago. They were with a new healer now, and the new healer never before saw a man assist with the birth of a child in the way Masaru could.

"JUST DO AS I SAY!" Masaru yelled trying to remain calm amidst a panicked Mai and a petrified Zuko.

"Aunt Mai, keep her down," Masaru said. "If she wakes, it could hurt her," Masaru explained.

Mai bit her lip and nodded, placing a hand behind her daughter's neck, pressing down on a pressure point at the base of her brain that kept her asleep. Masaru did what he could to numb her senses from the waist down the best he could, then sent a surge throughout her lower abdomen. He knew her entire body like the back of her hand, he had every synapse of every nerve mapped. He helped deliver their five children, and he would help deliver this one of hers too.

Her body contracted violently and the child crowned.

Masaru had to work to keep Izumi's lungs breathing and her heart beating steadily while Mai kept her down.

A second surge, and the head of the baby was free.

"You're-" the healer began to say.

"Don't ask questions! Just catch the damn baby and make sure it LIVES! Make sure they BOTH LIVE, DAMMIT" Masaru barked.

The third jolt pushed the baby out and into the new healer's hands.

"A girl!" the healer exclaimed.

Mai let go of her daughter's neck with a sigh of relief and sat back in a chair, leaning one elbow on the arm of the chair and her head in that hand, with her free arm extended to touch her grown baby's breathing. It was incredibly, irregular and her heart was distressed.

"Did she lose a lot of blood?" Masaru asked the healer.

"Not too much," the head healer said tending to Izumi as one of the midwives tended to the baby. "She will live, but will need a long recovery," the healer said cleaning the princess's womanhood, and healing the lacerations the baby tore through her mother's body.

Izumi never looked paler than that day after severe blood loss.

Midwives wiped down the princess's sweaty body and placed the new baby on her chest.

Izumi's hand subconsciously moved inspect the new weight on her, feeling warmth.

Masaru zapped the baby very gently with his index finger, making the child scream and cry. Izumi woke and put both hands on it, in a panic.

"Shhh!" she hushed rubbing its back, and touching its temple, inspecting its tiny fists.

She looked up at her parents and Masaru standing around her all looking so… tired.

"I almost didn't make it," she realized, seeing their grief-stricken faces.

"Izumi," Zuko said slowly with a cracky voice, reaching out to put a hand on his daughter's still leg.

"Don't worry father," Izumi said stroking the baby's head slowly. "When I am much old, one of my children may unseat me, but none of them will ever be able to defeat me," Izumi replied smiling weakly.

Mai laughed nervously with tears streaming down her eyes. Masaru didn't laugh, though. He only cried, silently, with no expression to accompany the lines of salt on his cheeks.

"Boy or girl?" Izumi asked looking down at the little baby drooling on her breast, soothed now by Izumi's finger stroking her tiny head.

"Girl," Mai answered. Izumi's head fell back with devastation. Girl, and legitimate. The royal family had a new Princess.

"But your life will be nothing like mine. I promise you, I will not ever let you be abused. I will never let anybody hurt you. I'll be better," Izumi said, spreading her fingers to cover her new child more completely.

"I'm sorry, my love," Mai said, rubbing her daughter's head. The baby didn't respond. It only slept on her slowly rising and falling chest.

* * *

"Father, where is mother?" three-year-oldTetsuya asked, his father confused when his mother did not return home from work.

"She's just been… busy… at work lately," Masaru replied sadly.

"But she doesn't even come to sleep anymore," Tetsuya replied sadly. Takeo went to school, Rikuto went with Grandma Toph back to the Earth Kingdom for a month, and Sasuke went to Republic City with Great Uncle Sokka for a month leaving only the twins and Masaru at his estate, and they were lost without Izumi, lost and confused.

* * *

Izumi was on bed rest for two weeks, too weak to even stand on her own. Izumi told her father that Mai and Iliana were the only ones allowed to touch the new Princess. If anyone else came near her, Izumi would unleash her inner fire, and let them destroy whomever disobeyed.

Finally, she could stand again, and learn to walk again. She pushed harder than ever before to recover quickly. The baby had been bigger than the others, not quite perfectly positioned, but kept coming. It jostled her hips which had to be manually moved back into place. It had misaligned her spine and ruined a couple of other things. Even Master Katara from Republic City had to come to check on her conditions and make a few improvements.

Finally, she was healthy enough and more than ready to 'go home'. She was done with the palace, done with those grand yet damask rooms, done with the whispers of the maids and servants, and done with the never ending parade of people bowing to her and her new baby.

The little girl was nine months old by the end of Izumi's recovery. She knew her grandmother, she knew her mother, and she knew her mother's maid, Iliana. She didn't like her Grandfather's scar and refused to let him hold her since it scared her still at this age.

Izumi pulled on a simple, light pink dress with long, wide sleeves and a skirt that fell all the way to the floor, and then went to get her daughter.

"Ursa," Izumi breathed looking down at the baby girl sitting on her bed, staring back at her with those wide, innocent golden eyes that seemed to hate everyone except the three women in her life permitted to hold her. "Do you want to go on an adventure? Do you want to meet your brothers, my sweet girl?" Izumi asked the little princess.

Ursa put her arms up. Izumi picked up the little girl and propped her on her hip, placing a hand on the baby's neck, while the baby got comfortable in her arms again. Very comfortable.

Saru was right. Izumi DID love Ursa and would do anything for the babe. Anything… at… all… for she saw herself in this baby girl, and an opportunity to save her from the trials of the royal upbringing. Iroh was lucky being born a boy and a prince. He was expected to be energetic, get into fights, to travel the world learning and training. But a Princess? They expected her to know how to fight, but never allowed her to because it wasn't 'lady like'.

Izumi carried her beautiful little cherub through the castle and out to the courtyard where the entrance to the secret tunnel to Masaru's Estate was. She was almost at the courtyard when she was intercepted by none other than the five fire sages of the Capital Temple.

"We heard you were walking again, Princess Izumi." the head of the Fire Sages said coldly. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, now if you excuse me, I have somewhere to be," Izumi said trying to pass. They blocked her way.

"As Fire Sages, it is our responsibility to protect the members of the Royal Family. All of them. You can protect yourself, Princess Izumi, but not your baby. She must remain in the palace, under guard, until she is ready."

"You let me take Iroh outside the palace walls," Izumi reminded them, rage boiling.

"He is a Prince, not a Princess."

"She will be with me the whole time!"

"She is still a girl. Girls are not like boys,"

"She's a baby! It is not like she's going to get pregnant or something!"

"But you might."

Izumi lifted her hand and lit it with blue fire as baby Ursa watched in wonder.

"Stand down, Miu. I am going, and you cannot stop me," Izumi growled.

"You wouldn't dare engage with your daughter in your arms," Fire Sage Miu replied sternly.

"Watch me. Ursa, hold on," Izumi ordered. The nine-month-old obeyed, wrapping her short little arms around her mother's long skinny neck. Izumi held her bottom in the crook of her elbow, and supported her neck and head with her hand. Then in a flash, Izumi ducked under the Fire Sage's arm and did a sweep kick, swiping all of the fire sages off their feet with one nice, blade of flames. While they tried to reorient themselves, Izumi bolted into the tunnel, locking the entrance behind her, and sprinted to Masaru's estate. She emerged in the quiet courtyard.

 _If only I had Toph's seismic sense!_ Izumi thought. _Wait! Thermal signature!_ The princess sought out all sources of heat in the general proximity. The oven was lit and baking something. A fire place was on boiling a kettle of water for tea, and then in the resident halls, Masaru was reading with the twins flanking him.

Izumi ran as fast as she could without bouncing baby Ursa too much, but she missed her sons.

"Saru! Tetsu! Tatsu!" Izumi breathed when she entered the room.

The three boys looked up in disbelief. She worried for a moment that the twins wouldn't recognize her. They were only three years old when she 'left' and fifteen months had passed. The Palace authorities wanted to ensure she didn't 'overexert herself' during the pregnancy, and then make sure she made a full recovery before jumping head first back into politics, parenting, and fighting the Fire Sages on pretty much everything.

Tetsuya and Tatsuya both leapt off of the chair, Tetsuya landing on his feet and Tatsuya on his face as they raced to her.

"I've missed you SOOOO much!" Izumi cried wrapping them both with her free arm.

"What… I mean, who…" Tetsuya asked looking at baby Ursa.

"She's your sister," Izumi replied placing Ursa down on the carpet on her shaky little legs, supporting her baby belly.

Both twins studied this new creature intently. Tatsuya's face softened, but Tetsuya's didn't for some reason.

"She's… squishy?" Tetsuya said eyeing the baby suspiciously. Izumi giggled.

"She's CUUUUUTE!" Tatsuya screamed jumping up with a whirlwind of fire.

"Careful!" Izumi said pulling Ursa out of the line of fire, blocking it with her own bending.

"We don't know if Ursa is a bender, so we don't know if she can endure that type of heat like your Father and I can. You must be careful with your bending around her, okay?" Izumi asked of them.

"Yes mother," Tatsuya said, bowing.

"Good. Now, where were we? Father was reading you stories?" Izumi asked, joining Masaru on the couch.

"Yep!" Tetsuya said, flying into Izumi's lap while Tatsuya launched himself onto Masaru's.

* * *

153AG

Izumi only told her parents and Aunt Azula when Ursa started firebending and took over Ursa's training immediately and secretly in Azula's private quarter of the Palace.

"Okay, can you copy me, Ursa?" Izumi asked her daughter demonstrating one of the beginner forms. Ursa tried. Izumi couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's adorable attempts. Izumi got down on her knees and repositioned the girl's arms and legs for each position then had her try the form again. Better but still not good enough. Still she smiled and kept correcting the girl until she got it right.

"Princess Izumi," a voice called behind Izumi.

"Yes, Sage Miu-," Izumi asked irritably. For four years, the Fire Sages wisely kept their distance from the princesses, but now that Ursa had begun firebending, it was no surprise that they were once again trying to get involved.

"You will be pleased to know that we've found a firebending instructor for your daughter so that you may return to your father's side as Princess in training and heir to the throne-"

"My father was my first firebending instructor and agrees that I should be Ursa's. He can do without me for a year at least. He knows I am needed here, not on the throne for the time being," Izumi replied turning her daughter's wrist and bending her knee. The girl looked down.

"Focus, baby," Izumi said tilting the girl's chin up immediately. Precision was everything. Ursa looked forward. "Good, then middle punch, front side kick and hold the position."

Ursa kicked low then pivoted on her standing foot and kicked high and almost fell over. Izumi caught her side with one arm and her foot with the other. Holding the girl in place. She braced the child's standing leg against her knee and adjusted the little girl's foot position.

"Ow-" Ursa winced.

Normal pain that came with training. Nothing like what Izumi suffered in acrobatics and gymnastics. "You need to stretch more, Love," Izumi said letting go of the foot. "Hold it... five.. four... three... two... one... good. From the beginning." Izumi said standing up, towering over her four year old. Ursa started her form finishing with the high kick.

She gasped. "I did it! I did it and didn't fall on the kick at the end!" Ursa clapped her hands and jumped up and down like a little bean while Izumi smiled. The girl jumped into her mother's arms laughing.

"You should end your dorm with your head to the ground, bowing, Princess Ursa. Your mother will be Fire Lord one day and you need to treat her with respect."

"I suggest you practice what you preach, Miu," Izumi responded passive aggressively.

Ursa turned around, not used to being directly addressed by anybody. She scooted back, practically crawling into the space between Izumi's legs like a frightened, young penguin-otter, wrapping her mother's skirts around her for protection, eyeing the Fire Sages with distrust.

"She will grow up weak under your care!" Miu yelled.

"She won't be weak. She just won't be broken by the time she's seventeen!" Izumi argued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, all feedback is greatly appreciated!!!


	25. The Tournament

**154AG**

Izumi was at her desk sifting through her papers when she saw a note supposedly signed by her father with a list of firebending instructors for her to choose from for Ursa. She didn't believe it. Zuko of all people knew how important it was for Izumi to be able to train her daughter, and protect her. She knew almost all of the names on the list. Two were from Iroh's old school, two were retired generals who now ran the bootcamp for new army recruits in the capital, and one was from the Royal Academy for Girls on the other side of the dormant volcano.

It took all of Izumi's self-control to not burn the letter there in her office, so she did the second best thing she could think of and went to her father. Fortunately he was alone in his office, so she could just walk in without feeling guilty about interrupting somebody, not that she would care about interrupting a session anyways; she knew her father preferred her company to all of those ministers and generals anyways.

"Did you really sign this?" Izumi asked as she invited herself in, setting the letter down on top of whatever he was writing.

"Izumi, as much as I agree with you about needing to train Ursa, I must appease the majority of my councilors. They still have greater trust in the old war lords, generals, and soldiers to teach the martial art as opposed to a diplomat-"

"Is that what they think I am? Just a diplomat? They think I can't teach my daughter because I haven't seen battle?"

"Izumi-"

"I was trained in firebending by the Dragon of the West, and then briefly by the woman who was ALMOST-Fire-Lord-at-age-fourteen. A smart person may learn from his mistakes in battle and improve, but like to think I'm wise enough to learn from other people's experiences. Father, I can superheat my flame to over thirty thousand degrees! I have mastered dark and standard lightning generation and redirection. I learned secrets of our art from the dragons AND the Desert-"

"Izumi-"

"Father, if they think battle history is the only qualification for someone to teach firebending, let me prove my prowess!Give me the opportunity to try, at least-"

"I'm not going to start a war just so my ONLY child can shoot herself in the foot!"

"You don't need to! We can have a tournament in the Agni Kai Chamber. I can fight them all, and I can beat them all in an Agni Kai. Please, Father."

Zuko reclined in his chair and rubbed his head. Izumi sat tall with her back straight, her delicate wrists resting on the arms of the chair.

Zuko looked at his daughter before him. At the age of fifteen, she convinced her mother to loan her five million yuans. She started an underground, team-oriented, bending tournament circuit that brought together competitors and spectators from all three nations (at the time). She secretly competed with Kya and some girl named Rona for two whole years before Zuko found out, and in that time was undefeated. She was smart, using a fake name in case she actually did lose a match so she would never bring shame on the family.

When she was seventeen, she said goodbye to her true love as he joined the army, and took on most of the Princess Duties she still maintained today. She accepted her role in the Royal Family as a provider of heirs since Mai couldn't bear anymore children after her. She endured an unhappy marriage for her family's image, and for her country's inspiration.

When she was twenty three years old, she lost both her child and her husband husband, and still she managed to stay calm. She tried to find her husband, failed, and moved on. She may not be a decorated soldier in some army, but she was not weak as so many of the ministers and generals believed. She didn't fight for the sake of fighting but with a purpose. She was not a conqueror, but a protector.

Izumi knew she had the upper hand now. It was as if she could see her father's brain firing through his eyes as he considered all of his options and all of the possible repercussions of such a tournament.

"Very well, we will have a tournament. Do you need any time to prepare? Get back into shape or-"

"Father, really? Do really think that after all I have been through, that I would be foolish enough to allow my body to weaken? Have the tournament tomorrow, or today if the generals are ready," Izumi replied contemptuously.

"Very well. I'll see about tomorrow morning," Zuko decided.

Izumi took a deep breath. She had a chance at keeping Ursa.

* * *

"You're an idiot, Izumi," Azula said standing in the doorway of her dear niece's bedroom.

"I'm not an idiot. I'm a mother of a little girl that needs protecting at this age." Izumi replied as Iliana wrapped her chest flat with a deep crimson strip of fabric. "Ow! Why can't you just wrap it normally?"

"Your breasts will distract your opponents," Iliana explained.

"Shouldn't I use the distraction to my advantage?" Izumi asked.

"You're a Princess, not a harlot. If you're to win this tournament fairly, you must do it with your raw fighting ability. Not your natural beauty," Iliana said to Izumi.

She huffed and crosses her arms over her flattened chest. Izumi tied up all of her hair up in a perfect bun and then headed over to the Agni Kai Chamber.

"Wait!" A voice called.

"Saru? What are you doing here?"

"All of Fire nation's high society was invited. And I so happen to be the largest employer in our country, the second wealthiest, a former military man, a philanthropist, and former ward of the Fire Lord and Fire Lady. But that's besides the point. May we have a moment alone please?"

"It's not very proper, but alright," Iliana said giving Izumi's arm a squeeze before leading the guards away.

"I just wanted to remind you to stay in control of yourself. You have nothing to fear, Izumi. Find peace and everything will come to you. You're not a killer. You're not a conqueror. You're doing this to protect Ursa, no more," Masaru said as they approached the Agni Kai Chamber. "And..." he pulled a lock of hair out of her bun and hung it in her face, over her left eye. "Monitor this- if it turns blue," he paused. "You know what to do."

"Thank you, Saru," Izumi said, embracing him. She quickly glanced up and down the halls then jumped to kiss him quickly on the lips. "Now go to your seat before somebody sees!" Izumi said shoving him towards the spectator doors. The master of ceremony came out to drape the ceremonial cape that Izumi would drop just before facing her first opponent.

Izumi bent down on one knee with the single lock of hair dangling just left of her nose. The Agni Kai Chamber was filled to maximum capacity. All of the Council of Generals, the Council of Ministers, the Fire Sages, and the ambassadors from the other three nations were in attendance with what sounded like at least eight hundred or so first class Fire Nation Citizens all snickering about the 'utter absurdity of the situation'.

"What unfitting behavior for a Princess!"

"She should be ashamed!"

"She's foolish for wanting to train her daughter!"

"A woman's place is in the bed, not on a stage!"

Izumi clenched her fists, and saw blue streak the lock of her hair hanging in her face.

_You are in control! Don't listen to them. You fight for peace. You fight for your daughter's happiness. You are not a conqueror. You are a protector, Izumi. Your fire is light, not destruction._

The master of ceremony ordered them to stand, face each other and bow.

Izumi's first opponent must have been at least a foot and a half taller than her, and four times the weight. But Izumi would be faster, she knew already. Because they were no longer in the old regime, they would fight until submission OR until one person was physically "thrown from the ring".

As they straightened up again, they shrugged off their capes. Izumi could hear more gasps and murmurs from crowd and practically feel her father's angst.

"Look at her body!"

"Look at her waist."

"She doesn't stand a chance."

"We are going to lose our Crown Princess today."

"It is a good thing her first child is of age and able to take her place…"

 _You're not a conqueror. You're a protector._ Izumi said focusing on her breathing. _Remember the basics!_

Her opponent struck first.

_Big mistake._

Rather than break the fire, Izumi evaded. She dove under the flames to get closer to the man. He was startled more than anything by the proximity of the princess. Izumi looked up at him with her narrow golden tangerine colored eyes for only a fraction of an instant then dove between his legs so that they were back to back. He tried to kick up a flame behind himself, but Izumi slid to the side, so the man only succeeded in burning the back of his own head. While he lurched forward, Izumi did a powered wheel kick and threw him from the ring in a quick, half minute match.

 _Next opponent,_ Izumi thought. She stood up straighter, letting her open hands fall by her sides while the next general came to face her. Izumi knew she had to be smart. She had to beat all of the candidates, all fifty of them. Since they all watched from the crowd until their turn, Izumi knew she had to be creative and not give her style away. She could not give them enough time or information for them to learn her. Fortunately, her style was having a lack of style. She could evade like Tenzin, she could bend and turn like Kya. She could stand sturdy, block, wait and listen like Lin, and firebend like Masaru.

"She moves like a waterbender!"

"She moves like an earthbender!"

"She moves like an airbender!"

"She moves like an avatar!"

"And to think that that body has had two children already!"

 _Seven,_ thought Masaru with a satisfied grin. _That body has had seven children, and five of those were mine!_

Izumi kicked up a wheel of blue fire, lifting her opponent up at least twenty feet into the air. As he fell down again, she ran towards him, jumping up and kicking him off the ring without any fire, just pure momentum and perfect timing.

_Next._

They were adding people to the tournament line-up hoping for someone to unseat the Princess as the champion. _They are going to run her until she collapses_ , Masaru realized as they pitched a fifty first opponent against his lady at the end of the second straight hour. To the crowd, the Princess was invincible. She showed no signs of tiring. Sure, her smooth, pale skin glistened with sweat and her usually flawless complexion was marred by dark bruises and abrasions from falling and sliding across the stone floor, but she always got back up. Her true state could only be noticed by Masaru and probably Mai. The way she bit her lower lip, the way she picked at the nail on her ring finger with the thumb of the same hand, the way her spine started to slouch, and her right leg became heavy were all signs of her tiring. Izumi wiped her forehead with the back of her arm then snorted and spit on the edge of the ring, right in front of a noblewoman who leapt back in disgust.

"And the next opponent is General Khoa Minh-" the master of Ceremony began to say.

"Bullshit!" Izumi called out, speaking for the first time in front of everybody. "Ren was the fiftieth and he failed to defeat me!"

 _So she has been keeping count._ Masaru was impressed.

"There has been a change in roster," the master of ceremony said.

Izumi shot a glare at the head of the Fire Sages, Miu.

She spat again eliciting more shocked gasps from all the noblewomen in the room and bent down into her open palmed fighting stance. Masaru had to do something, to save her from either hurting herself, or falling into her own flames. He pulled a notepad out of a concealed pocket and wrote, "add me to the line up-Masaru Lee" and handed it to the assistant taking volunteers.

Izumi rolled under her opponent's arm getting behind him. As he turned, she kicked him in the jaw. There was a sickening crack and a the man lost two teeth and spit out blood. He lunged for the princess who cartwheeled backwards like an acrobat and ducked as a flame flew towards her face. She split it only to get a foot to the gut. She flew back about twelve feet almost sliding off the edge of the stage. She needed to recenter. She played evasive trying to get back, to pass him, but he was angry. She needed to land a blow on him somewhere weak, which on someone so buffed, was his face and his face only. She dodged several more attacks, then shot lightning at him. Lightning was especially draining which is why Izumi spent so much time waiting and evading landing precise blows to knock out her opponents, but she was already tiring.

Her opponent dodged. _He can't redirect it,_ both Izumi and Masaru noticed.

 _Get close, Zumi!_ Masaru yelled in his head.

Izumi thought the exact same way. With one last burst, she flipped over his head, barely grazing his shoulder with the tip of her finger and blasted him with a wave of non-visible dark lightning, paralyzing him. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Next opponent," the master of ceremony said. The attendant waved for Masaru to come on stage.

Masaru climbed onto it from the side instead of entering from the back.

"Mr. Masaru Lee, of Earth and Fire Refineries,"

Izumi froze. Masaru unbuttoned his suit jacket and his shirt and tossed it aside as Izumi turned. Shock and annoyance flashed across Izumi's face before Masary shot her a condescending look. _Control yourself!_ He reminded her with his eyes.

She looked down and away as he kicked off his shoes and bent into his sparring stance.

They faced each other. Masaru smirked knowing that even though the Princess was undefeated thus far, he would have the upper hand in this fight.

Izumi knew it too which only made her angrier. Neither opponent struck first and the murmurs ensied. Both fighters knew the other's entire arsenal of moves. Both knew the other's style even though nobody else did. Both had knowledge of dark lightning which appeared to only be performed proficiently by four people in the world.

Masaru flashed back to when he was five years old and that same little Princess standing before him came bounding towards him with the biggest, most innocent smile on her face.

_"SARU! SARU! Look what I can do!" she yelled. She stopped running, pulled her hands back in an almost fist, leaving two fingers on each straight and shot lightning at him, nearly killing him._

_It was in that fleeting instant that masaru had to remember how to redirect it. He knew the motions. He had seen Great Uncle Iroh do it so many times, but he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing inside, or how to focus his energy like with firebending. Somehow, he managed to redirect it at the sky._

The grown princess now standing before him must have been thinking the same thing, because in that instant, lightning came right at him.

In the memory, Masaru fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the energy the Little Princess shot through his body. They were scolded by Great Uncle Iroh for playing with something so dangerous unsupervised. It was too risky a technique for a child to try. Yet somehow, they survived.

Masaru took in the beam of energy. He was stronger now and would not fall to his knees like he did then. When Izumi expected him to shoot it at the ceiling of the chamber or even at the wall behind him, he didn't. He surprised her, shooting it right back. He didn't strike her directly. That would have been far too easy for the prodigious Princess to redirect. No, he shot it at her feet, too low for her to redirect, and too fast for her to be able to move forward and intercept it.

With no other option, Izumi blocked the blast with a shield of blue fire. Still, the force was strong enough to knock her back off her feet. She bounced onto her side and rolled. She looked up at him. He showed no expression of relief or remorse. Only determination to win.

Izumi didn't jump up as quickly as she did with her other competitors. Was she FINALLY tired? No. She never wanted to hurt Masaru, and she couldn't believe he would almost hurt her. She was stunned.

Others would have kicked the bitch while she was down, but not Masaru. He waited for her to recover. They clashed with blue and red fire, lightning generation and lightning redirection for what felt like hours.

"Watch your back, Princess," Masaru said landing a blow on the back of her leg. She fell and roared with annoyance as she rolled forward and turned sending a fistful of flames towards his face which he fanned aside with his hand. She jumped up and got behind him.

"Watch YOURS!" she yelled.

No! He knew what she was going to do the instant before she did it. With a series of rapid jabs, she disabled his arm of its bending. Then his other, then his legs and then pounded his spine, eliminating the possibility of him breathing fire. She took an instant too long to breathe though.

"Forgive me, Princess, you leave me no choice," Masaru said hearing her panting behind him.

He ducked avoiding a wheel kick aimed at his head with the force of a knockout. He turned, backhanding her in the jaw with his right hand and then swept her standing leg out from under her with his left. As she became horizontal, planted his left hand on her flat, toned abdomen and forced her down, slamming her on her back, onto the ground, knocking the air from her lungs, finishing the match and winning.

Izumi crumpled and gasped for air. The entire hall held its breath. Zuko, the Fire Sages, and even Mai stood up, shocked, but didn't say anything. Masaru stood up taller, and feigned pity on her convulsing form on the arena floor then turned and stared directly into Zuko's eyes, and bowed respectfully.

Satisfied with the businessman's unexpected ruthlessness, a majority of the crowd stood and clapped.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lee," the master of ceremony said lifting Masaru's hand while attendants rushed over to help the Crown Princess to her feet again. She glared at Masaru with a busted lip and a bruised cheek and wiped her face with the back of her arm leaving behind a smear of blood.

He pretended to ignore her as the attendant went to fetch Iliana and the Princess Ursa who had been spared having to watch such a horrible tournament.

Ursa looked up at Masaru with curiosity first, having never seen his bare chest before. Then she turned to her mother who was slightly bent over, with her hand and face smeared with blood from her busted lip.

Ursa stepped back, away from both of them, not sure what to make sense of this new and unusual situation.

"Princess Ursa, please meet your new firebending master, Mister Masaru Lee," the master of ceremony said bowing deeply.

Ursa looked up at her Uncle Saru with apprehension.

"One thing you should know, Princess," Masaru said bending down to Ursa's level. "You must always be prepared to make sacrifices for the ones you love," he said to the girl. "We start tomorrow. I must first speak to your mother about where you are now." Masaru turned to Izumi.

Izumi yanked her hand free of the attendants and stormed out of the hall.

Masaru turned to Zuko who waved for him to go after her, while the Fire Sages looked on suspiciously.

He ran through the seldom traveled halls and secret passageways through the walls of the palace to get to Izumi.

"We need to talk!" he yelled catching up with Izumi in a hall of Azula's Quarter.

"You HUMILIATED me in front of my entire nation!" Izumi growled wiping more blood off her face with her bare forearm.

"IZUMI!" he grabbed her wrist. Chi blocked or not, he was stronger, and she didn't hate him enough to burn him. "Listen to me, please! I didn't want to humiliate you, but you gave me no choice! I did it for Ursa. The Fire Sages would have put people against you until you collapsed from exhaustion. Even if you won the tournament today, they would have done the same thing a month from now and again later. They will fight you until you couldn't fight any longer and then they will whisk away your baby and ship her off to boarding school or something. They hate you! It is no secret! They will not rest until they have Ursa in their hands to brainwash into a little… traditional… imperialist monster! This is the only way! I will be kind to her, I promise. You KNOW I would never hurt either of you unless I absolutely have to, like today."

Izumi looked down and watched a drop of blood fall from her lip and splash on the ground.

"Singe a single hair on her little head," Izumi began to threaten.

"And I am dead, I know. Don't worry, Zumi," Masaru said with a warm smile.

Izumi glared at him and then walked away.

* * *

The next day, Masaru came to the palace dressed not in a suit but his training clothes.

Izumi had been cleaned up, her lip stitched, and was dressed in her Princess Robes to supervise the first lesson with the Fire Sages also in attendance. Masaru started by making the girl run liners to warm up. She was only five years old, but he knew he had to be harsh in front of the Fire Sages.

The girl nearly collapsed. he prescribed certain amounts of water for her to drink and controlled when she drank it. He held her feet still with his foot while she did push ups and sit ups. Izumi made her already a strong girl but she was still not quite strong enough.

"When do we get to the actual firebending?" the princess asked impatiently, panting.

"When you can control your breathing," Masaru replied with no expression. "Fire comes from the breath Little Princess, and you're already struggling," Masaru said. "Liners again. Twenty laps." He ordered.

"I won't!" Ursa yelled sitting on the floor. Tantrums worked at _home_.

"Ursa," Masaru bent down on one knee. "You love your mother, right?"

"Yes,"

"If you don't listen to me now and do your liners, I will strike her," Masaru said to Ursa.

Ursa's eyes bulged as she looked up at him in surprise.

"See her lip?" Masaru asked. "I did that and I can do that again." Masaru threatened.

Ursa jumped up and ran to complete her liners.

Izumi looked on with shock and disapproval but the Fire Sages seemed satisfied.

"You are going to traumatize her with your threats! She will hate you!" Izumi yelled at him after the lesson.

"More or less than those other brutes in the tournament against you?" Masaru argured. Izumi didn't respond. "Don't worry. Ursa doesn't hate me yet. And she won't. I have a plan, Izumi. If you just trusted me—"

"How can I trust you when you so easily brutalized me in the tournament and clearly took no issue with with using me to threaten my daughter right before my eyes?"

Masaru sighed, he knew she was right and let her go.

* * *

Izumi didn't speak to him when she came to visit the twins daily. She didn't sleep over after she put Tetsu and Tatsu to bed. She didn't even look at him if she could avoid it.

The twins were now sparring with young Ursa when she came to play with them.

It was Masaru's time to watch all of the babes. "Lu, Yen, could you supervise the twins while I have a word with my pupil?" Masaru asked his two co-captains of his personal estate guard.

"Of course, Sir," the two guards said taking a break from their rounds to join the boys in the courtyard.

"Ursa, may I speak with you, child?" Masaru asked separating her from the twins.

"Mhm?" Ursa said bounding after him with her two free locks of hair that framed her face, bouncing in the breeze.

"I need to talk to you about your firebending training," Masaru said choosing a room next to where Izumi was 'working from home.'

"Yes?"

"You need to start training on your own and doing extra stretching and running. All of it," he said.

Ursa looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Because when we train at the Palace and the Fire Sages are there, I have to be meaner. Each week I must increase the rigor of your training. I have to push harder. I know the training hurts, but the more you do it, the easier it gets."

"Really?" Ursa asked, wide-eyed, believing him completely.

"Yes. But even if it gets easier, you still have to pretend to hate me."

"Why?"

"Because if the Fire Sages see either of us show any weakness for the other, they will take you away and have you train with somebody who is actually mean. If you love your mother and if you want to continue to see Tetsuya, Tatsuya, and me, you have to train and learn to act vicious. Feign pain. I don't want you to actually suffer, Ursa. I love you and want to keep you safe."

"Thank you, Uncle Saru," Ursa said, hugging him.

"Now let me see your warrior face, Princess," Masaru said.

"Grrrr..." Ursa said, smiling.

"Nice effort but you can't kill with cuteness. You need to ROAR like a tigerdillo!"

"Roar!" Ursa tried throwing her arms up in the air like claws but falling backwards onto the carpet. "Ouf!"

Masaru laughed at her and she smiled.

"Like this:" Masaru roared breathing fire.

"Fire can come out of your mouth too?" Ursa gasped.

"Yes!" Masaru said picking the child up gently and placing her back on her feet.

"ROAR!" Ursa yelled, also breathing fire.

"Better! But don't smile after and never look for approval. Know who you are and what it is you are capable of doing! I want you to snarl!" He said, growling with his eyebrows scrunched up and his eyes narrowed.

Ursa's attempt to mimic him could not have been cuter.

Izumi couldn't stifle her giggle. Both turned.

"Heya, Zumi— how long have you been standing there?" Masaru asked.

"Long enough," Izumi replied, entering the room and striding over to Masaru's side.

"Mother look! I can roar now!" Ursa yelled demonstrating.

"Very nice love, but you're still smiling," Izumi said patting her head while she hugged Izumi's leg.

"Oh! Right! Grrrr," Ursa growled.


	26. Losing

**155AG**

Izumi just finished the final draft of an arms supply agreement with the 54th division of the Earth Kingdom Army. The treaty of Yu Dao in 100AG ordered that the Fire Nation maintain an army of no more than 5 million active personnel and 20 million reserve personnel in times of peace. Their navy could maintain no more than 100 active vessels and their air force no more than 350 armored airships and 800 war balloons. It was because of the restrictions that the mechanists and engineers of the country were so driven to innovating new artillery to maintain the strength of the Fire Nation's reduced military in the event any other nation decided to exploit their restrictions to reap vengeance on the former imperial state.

Whenever a an airship or a battleship was rendered obsolete, it was sold to another nation. The Water Tribes, still exponentially less wealthier than the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom could only afford to buy vessels as they were able, converting most of them into cargo and passenger ships to create one of the most extensive sea trading routes in history. Regional warlords in the Earth Kingdom, however, were the biggest customers of the Fire Nation's surplus artillery left over from the war to defend themselves from each other since their Queen, Hou-Ting only seemed to concern herself with the proceedings of Ba Sing Se's upper ring. Even if the entire Earth Kingdom pooled their collection of old Fire-Nation-made weaponry, they could not even hope to overwhelm the current, more advanced machinery in possession by the Fire Nation Army

Izumi ran her fingers through her loose hair and signed the document before picking up a fan out of her desk drawer to dry the ink. She replaced the fan, folded the parchment, and then sealed it with a bit of red wax and a stamp bearing her own seal of approval. She leaned back and rubbed her eyes and took a breath. Military proceedings were not as excruciatingly boring as social proceedings, but nonetheless still agonizingly tedious. She took a deep breath, tied her hair up again and replaced her crown before picking up the stack of finished letters to take to take to the mail room. In the past, a Prince or Princess would have a secretary do such a menial thing, but not Izumi. She needed to stretch her legs.

 _There, last task for the day!_ She dropped the letters in and then began heading for her private quarters where she would change into something more comfortable and go check on her daughter's lessons with Masaru, when she was intercepted by a Palace messenger.

"The Fire Lord requests your presence as soon as convenient," the messenger informed the Princess.

"Where?" Izumi asked curtly. If it was just for a chat, they would speak over dinner. If it regarded the Avatar or his family, they would meet in person over tea or in one of each other's offices. If it were something to which he believed Izumi would not agree, it was-

"The Throne Room, Princess," the messenger replied.

Izumi closed her eyes for a brief moment and drew a breath. "Tell him I'll be right there," Izumi responded.

"Yes, Princess," the messenger bowed and hurried off.

 _What could he possibly want now?_ Izumi groaned to herself before following.

The number of guards that stood before the wall of flames that divided the Fire Lord from his subjects had been doubled in Izumi's absence. She hadn't been in the throne room for months as she preferred to speak to her father as a daughter and not a servant. "Princess Izumi, my Lord," the royal scribe announced from his desk to the side of the main galley. Izumi took a knee and bowed to her father.

"You called for me?"

"I did," Zuko's voice rang out above the flames, echoing throughout the chamber. "It has been decided that Princess Ursa will continue her firebending training and other studies under the distinguished instructors of the Royal Academy for Girls, like her predecessors, and not under the tutelage of Masaru Lee-"

"No," Izumi replied shaking her head in disbelief. "NO!" Izumi yelled, taking over the fiery wall that her father lit in the room, turning it blue and fueling it to hit the ceiling in her rage.

"Izumi!" Zuko scolded her, jumping through it as the guards split.

"Everyone else that isn't Father, LEAVE!" Izumi yelled.

"You do not command anybody in my presence!" Zuko replied.

"Why? You do not trust me? You gave your word that after the tournament, this discussion would be OVER!"

"After much deliberation, we have all agreed that it would be best for Ursa to go, so that she can make friends her own age."

"We or Miu, Father? Answer me honestly!"

Zuko ignored her question. "Was it not your primary complaint growing up in this damask palace that you were lonely?"

Izumi was fuming. She and Zuko could feel her temperature rising.

"Everybody leave!" Zuko ordered the guards and the scribes as the blue fire in the trough kept growing.

They all scampered out.

"Where is she?" Izumi demanded, hair turning completely blue like her fire.

"Already gone," Zuko replied regretfully.

"No… NO!" Izumi yelled, slamming her fists down on the floor of the Throne room.

Zuko shielded himself as her blue fire exploded, blasting the ceiling off of the room and destroying all of the pillars, burning everything. Zuko watched her cry, not strong enough a bender to get through her heat barrier. Above the cracking of the walls and foundation, the sound of a dragon came through Izumi's fire. Her dragon, Eiko, had gone to fetch Masaru from his estate. The Princess's lover jumped off of the dragon's back and crouched beside his lady, wrapping one arm over her shoulders and placing the other arm across her body. Only he could ever endure the heat of her pain.

Zuko watched as one of Masaru's hands moved to her back and the other moved to her abdomen. Izumi nodded to something he said that Zuko couldn't hear. The fires all extinguished with one wave of heat, leaving behind only the charred remains of the foundation of the Fire Nation Throne Room. Masaru kissed the top of her head and reminded her to breathe before standing, leaving her kneeling on the scorched floor with her arms wrapped over her torso, protectively.

"Thank you, Masaru," Zuko said with a nod.

"You sent Ursa away?" he asked.

"After much consideration-" Zuko began to explain.

"You were only doing what you thought was best for your family and your country. I understand and respect your decision. Zumi will too, eventually," he replied, looking down at her.

* * *

That evening, Izumi sat in her mother's quarters on the lounger farthest from the fireplace, her body wrapped in a blanket saturated with ice-water to cool her down. She leaned on Masaru's side as he draped an arm over her shoulder and across her body. Mai sat watching the fire burn blue in the fireplace as she sipped her cup of tea, avoiding her daughter's distant scowl while Azula sat in an armchair studying the overheating princess intently. Zuko entered the parlor in his night clothes and poured a cup for himself.

"I am sorry, Izumi," he repeated.

She refused to respond or acknowledge her father.

"Princess, the special tea that you asked for," a maid said, entering and handing Izumi the cup. She smelled it for poisons as she was always trained to do with anything she didn't prepare herself and took a sip.

"Thank you Rin," Izumi replied with a nod, snuggling up tighter against Masaru's body. The servant bowed and left the parlor.

"What makes the tea special?" Zuko asked.

Izumi refused again to answer.

"Milk of the poppy. It's moons tea to stop her cycle so she can't conceive."

"Why?" Zuko asked.

"So I don't ever have to split my soul into another piece only for it to be robbed from me," Izumi growled with the cup close to her lips. She shivered under the cold, wet blanket, but it was necessary.

"I could just slow your heart down, but I know you don't like that," Masaru whispered in her ear. She stilled herself under the blanket and allowed the exchange of her heat with the cold of the blanket.

"I heard a rumor the Throne Room got blown up for the first time since Great Grandfather Roku confronted Great Grandfather Sozin about the first of the Fire Nation Colonies," Azula said with a somewhat amused tone in her voice.

"It was not my intention to become so… destructive," Izumi replied.

"Don't feel bad. Dear little Zuzu was an ass to you. I would have done the same thing if someone took my baby away. Spirits forgive me, I would have torched the entire capital city until I got my way," Azula laughed, coming to kneel beside Izumi where she curled up against Masaru. Izumi remained scowling. "In all seriousness, though, Zumzu. Everything happens for a reason. If life were so easy, we would become bored, restless, reckless and even more destructive than we are already simply to entertain ourselves. There is something to be said for having some amount of strife in lives. Your father and I have both had to struggle and fight in our young lives and that is what's made us strong, helped us become able to make the decisions we make today. Coddling your babies will only put them at a disadvantage in the long run. We're not trying to hurt you, Izumi. We just understand a little better what it means to make sacrifices for the ones we love. The pain is temporary, trust me."

Izumi took a breath and exhaled, making her wet blanket steam.

"I'm going to get another one," Masaru said, standing up and taking the blanket to exchange it with another soaking in the tub of ice water.

"We love you, Izumi, even if sometimes it seems like we don't. The Academy is tough, but it still has some redeeming qualities. If I didn't go, I would have never met your wonderful Mother, and she wouldn't have ever met your Father, and you wouldn't exist, darling. Maybe Ursa will make some life-long friends there too. Give her the chance to meet people, and become something, sweet little Zumi," Azula asked.

Izumi glared down at her, but seemed to relax at least a little. Masaru draped another chilling blanket over her Izumi, and Azula laughed.

"What now?" Izumi asked.

"It's just that-it takes so much to control your fire. You're a special bender, Izumi. You possess an incredible power, one that no one has ever seen before, but with that incredible power comes incredible responsibility," Azula reminded the girl.

"I know," Izumi replied.

"You have to be careful."

"You all have to be careful with me. I am a bomb just waiting to explode."

"Waiting to?" Azula laughed. "Darling, you've already exploded. What do you call that display earlier today?"

"Nothing compared to the desert event," Izumi replied.

Azula reached up and ran her fingers through Izumi's streaked hair. "If that is so, then I think it is time for us to start training again." Azula turned to her brother. "Zuzu, I'm stealing your Princess for a week starting tomorrow. We're going on a trip."

Izumi looked up, shocked but not surprised. She just hoped it didn't involve posing as pirates.

* * *

The next day, Aunt and Niece traveled on the back of Izumi's dragon to a remote location in the Northern Tundra.

"What is this place?" Izumi asked as they landed on a wooden barge.

"Your training ground. Here, we keep our highest security prisoners deep underground. The extreme temperatures prohibits them from firebending," Izumi explained.

"And what does that mean for us?" Izumi asked her aunt.

"Our fires naturally burn hotter than others as seen in the blue color. We should be unaffected." Azula replied as they approached the doors guarded by two waterbending Fire Nation soldiers.

Azula took off her hood and motioned for Izumi to do the same.

The guards both bowed and opened the massive doors to the prison.

"Why are the doors so big if you don't want the prisoners escaping?" Izumi asked.

"Because most of these prisoners were delivered in the mouths of a dragon, Zumi," Azula replied as the pair stepped into the lift.

Izumi could feel the temperature plunging as the lift descended into the fissure in the glacier where the prison had been constructed.

"Warm yourself, girl, you'll need it." Azula said, rubbing Izumi's back.

The Crown Princess rubbed her hands together and blew a blue fire into them.

"You can show your true colors here. Most of these prisoners are on either death row or possess life sentences, so none of them can spill your little secret," Azula said, running her gloved fingers through Izumi's dark wavy hair that hung over her red parka.

Izumi blew the flame in her hand a little bit bigger and released a bit of her inner fire, turning her hair blue.

The lift finally came to a stop nearly a quarter mile below the surface of the glacier and opened.

"What's happening?"

"A rescue?"

"An extra meal?"

"Not even in your dreams Denkuo!"

"It's just two ladies!"

"Oh! Ladies."

"I can feel one of them all the way from here. She on fire or something?"

"Just about. Her hair's even glowing!"

"Like an avatar?"

"But Aang's still alive, ain't he?"

"Nah. Died three years ago, and this girl ain't look three years old, do she?"

"Aunty, where are you taking me?" Izumi asked.

"Here, I thought I'd start you off on a light weight," Azula replied, stopping at a marked cell.

"A lightweight?" Izumi asked.

Azula pulled out a set of keys and opened the door.

"NO! PLEASE!" the small man screamed curling up against the far wall in a nest of blankets.

"Relax, my niece will be much gentler than me!" Azula said to the man.

"Azula!" Izumi exclaimed. "I'm not going to torture him, if that is what you're thinking!"

"No, you're going to heal him! I will be doing the torturing," Azula replied.

"No! I cannot!"

"You can and you will, Izumi. You don't have a choice. You know how electrical impulses travel throughout the body. You know the nature of cell signalling. You know the structure of the brain, and you have a heart that is far greater than mine. If you are truly merciful, you will help this man, and erase his traumatic memories OF ME!" Azula said kneeling, planting a hand on the side of the man's head, electrocuting his body.

"STOP!" Izumi screamed aiming her lightning at Azula.

Azula redirected it into the metal wall of the prison cell, electrocuting everyone in that row except Izumi. Izumi covered her ears from the blood curdling screams that emanated from all of the cells in the row.

"Well thank you for making that so much easier," Azula said with a sick smile. She opened the door of the cell leaving the crumpled man convulsing on the floor and locking the door behind her.

"Azula!" Izumi screamed banging her fists on the door, tears streaming down her face, hair blazing.

"Tell me when you've successfully suppressed the right memories," Azula said tossing the keys in the air and catching them as she walked to the cell across the way.

"Hello, Artik! Remember me?"

"Please do-" then screams.

Izumi banged her fists on the door again then turned to the whimpering man on the floor and bent down.

"Please- don't touch me!"

"I promise I won't hurt you," Izumi said with tears in her eyes as she reached for his wrinkled face.

"No-" she touched his temple and mapped his entire system, including his brain, searching for the most active area within the memory cortex, and inhibited the signalling through it.

Izumi winced as she heard a third person's scream echoing throughout the icy fissure as her Aunt visited a third cell. Izumi watched the man's grimace relax as she finished the process of burning closed the synapses in the brain that contained the memory.

"Aunt Azula! I think I've got it!" she called standing up, looking down at the man.

"Are you a doctor?" he asked Izumi.

"No, just a firebender."

Azula threw open the door with a loud thud that made Izumi's heart skip a beat. He looked over Izumi's shoulder.

"I thought all of the guards were waterbenders, why did they send Fire Nation down here. Are we finally being set free?" the man asked obliviously.

Izumi looked down at him with pity.

"'Fraid not," Azula said with a sly grin, grabbing Izumi by the arm, yanking her out of the cell and slamming the door shut again.

"You're CRUEL!"

"And you're not, so undo my work for me! Just be a little more careful. You might have closed off too large a part of that guy's memory. He seemed far to ditsy than I would have preferred," Azula said.

"I don't even know what I am doing."

"And that's why we practice. These people are monsters, Izumi. Monsters like my father, like me. Because of their life sentences, they will never spill your precious little secret, so don't be afraid to keep trying. Perfect these techniques; perfect these applications of dark lightning. As such a powerful bender, it is your responsibility to not only to master your craft but to push the limits of fire and lightning. You were blessed with this power because of your heart and your ability to exercise restraint. You WILL use it to help people. You just need to trust yourself, then wait and see."

They entered the next cell together to treat a victim of the second-degree electrocution. This time, Izumi had guidance.

"You don't need to burn the connection site between synapses. You can just reroute the signalling," Azula told Izumi as she felt her niece's activity in the victim's head.

"I hate this."

"Hate what, Zumju?"

"Hate reaching inside people's bodies. I hated when Hisoki did it to me. I hate it when you did it to me. I even hate it when Saru does it to me even though he only does it when he has to. It is so- invasive! So… unsettling…" Izumi replied.

"You'll be grateful for the skill later, trust me," Azula said gazing down at her niece with her striking golden eyes.

* * *

"So how was the trip?" Mai asked her daughter as the girl entered the parlor with her aunt.

"Cold," Izumi replied.

"I think the Princess fared exceptionally well considering what we were doing," Azula said flashing a rare, proud smile.

"And what was it that you were doing?" Mai asked.

"Just refining her dark lightning," Azula said with a smirk. "Izumi will be the most powerful Fire Lord the world has ever seen."

"But I don't want more power. I don't want more responsibility." Izumi argued.

"And that my dear is why you, of all of us, will be the best to wield it. You will want to make your own life easier and to do so, you will rule justly and well," Azula explained giving Izumi's arm an affectionate squeeze before heading off to bed after their long journey.

Izumi scowled at the ground before also retreating to her own quarters in the palace, to sleep alone like all of the too numerous nights that Masaru was away.


	27. Illegitimacy

**157AG**

Princess Izumi was already forty-three years old. She supposedly stopped having children eight years ago, after Ursa was born. She did everything. She drank a special tea with milk of the poppy to STOP everything, and yet here they were, with her down on the birthing table, nearly dying, hopefully for the last time. Masaru couldn't be there as he was all the way in Ba Sing Se on a business trip; he too thought he was done with helping in that field. She was on her own, with no choice but to keep going. He would never forgive her if she died before him. They had an agreement, that they'd see each other through every child's adulthood, before kicking the bucket and giving in.

For once, Izumi was thankful for the horribly dim lighting of the palace as she tipped her head back with relief as the child exited her body. "Princess Izumi, it's a girl!"

She should have been happy but she wasn't. In fact, she couldn't be more devastated. She got eight years with Ursa. Eight blissful years before the Fire Sages stole her away and sent her to a boarding school that kept her for weeks at a time.

"Aren't you happy?" the healer asked with brows turned down with concern.

"Just hand her to me, and leave, speak to no one of what happened today. NO ONE! Nobody will know about this girl! Not your associates, not your trainees, not your interns, NOBODY." Izumi ordered the healer. "I need a word with my parents in privacy."

"Yes, Princess." The healer bowed obediently and backed out of the room.

"What's on your mind, Zumi?" Mai asked.

"She's so fragile, and small. No wonder we did not even notice her growing," Izumi said looking at her flat belly. "Do you think the bindings from the ceremonial robes stunted her growth?"

"We could have asked the healer to check on her if you didn't send her away," Zuko replied.

The little girl was nearly half the weight of all of her siblings at birth. She was so tiny and, considering that she born without warning, there was no way to know if she was born too painfully early.

"How could you not notice that you weren't bleeding?" Mai asked her daughter, perplexed.

"I don't know, maybe because I was constantly running from village or one city to another, in meetings from dawn until dusk of every day trying to keep the country from going to shit while father prepares for his abdication."

"He isn't going to retire for another ten years!" Mai exclaimed, shocked at her inability to feel her child growing inside her.

"Then why am I left to do everything?" Izumi shot back. She drew a breath. "I am sorry. I guess I was so grateful I didn't need to change a napkin every two hours for five days of the month that I never thought about it once to complain," Izumi replied, sarcastically rolling her eyes as she stroked the tiny little lump of life resting on her chest.

_She's so… tiny…_

"What are we going to do with her?" Zuko asked, fraught with worry over the tiny being in Izumi's arms.

"What do you mean?" Izumi asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at her father.

"Give her to Saru?" Zuko suggested.

"That is out of the question. She is too small. I'm keeping her with me, end of discussion."

"But Izumi, you are a princess. We can't just put you on leave suddenly without explanation-" Zuko protested.

"Call it the plague! You're the Fire Lord, Father. You can tell the generals and the foreign dignitaries whatever you like and they have to believe you. Whatever you decide, just know that I'm not showing up tomorrow. While this tiny thing can barely breathe, I am not leaving its side, and you can't make me. I WILL fight you on this right now if I need to."

"You insufferable girl," Zuko sighed.

"You insufferable father," Izumi retorted. "You allowed the Fire Sages to take one daughter from me, and I will not allow that to happen again."

* * *

Zuko went to the radio room to call for Masaru, but he could not be reached. Neither his direct line to the Earthen Fire location in the capital of the Earth Kingdom nor the direct line to his estate there were answering. "Where could the damned boy be?!" Zuko cursed.

"On his way," Mai replied placing a reassuring hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Huh?"

"I sent Eiko to fetch him a few minutes ago. The dragon is much faster than even a sky bison." Mai explained.

"How do you always manage to-never mind!" Zuko replied, shaking his head. "Let's get back to Zumzu."

The Princess was asleep in her own bed at this point, her frighteningly tiny baby asleep on her chest.

Eiko flew up to the Princess's bedroom window and practically threw the business man off its head and into the room. The thud of the business man's landing woke the Princess, and startled the newborn baby awake, filling the room with a pitiful, high-pitched wailing that made Masaru's heart stop for an instant.

"The note on Eiko's horn-" Masaru gasped, freezing in place as he spotted his lady turning to him with drooping eyes. "Zumi-" he looked in shock at her, then at the baby that the Princess was stroking with two fingers in an attempt to coax her back to sleep. "What-" Masaru choked, tears filling his eyes as he ran his fingers through his medium length wavy hair. "How did this happen? I thought- the moon tea-the milk of the poppy-" he began to stutter, tears filling his eyes.

"We have already sent agents to inspect the store. The contents of the tin had been replaced with untainted jasmine," Mai replied.

"Who would-" Masaru shook his head and rushed over to look at the tiny creature snoring on his love's chest. "Never mind- So this is-"

"She is yours," Izumi said weakly.

"A she?" he squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut, blinking away tears of joy. "And you delivered her all on your own? No panic attack, no-"

"I guess time does heal some things," Izumi replied with a slow shrug of her bare shoulders.

Masaru bent down and kissed her head, then moved his hands towards the baby before recoiling. "I don't want to wake her."

"She's slowly waking up again. I can feel it," Izumi said, stroking the baby's bare back with two fingers. Masaru looked over the infant to see her tiny fingers curling and uncurling against Izumi's skin. He saw a tiny mouth blowing spit bubbles and tiny eyes open and then close again, rejecting light.

"Why is she so small?"

Izumi shrugged. "Maybe she came early. We don't know."

"Don't know? How could you not know? Didn't you stop bleeding for…I don't know, a long time?"

"I guess I've just been too busy to keep track of such a thing," Izumi replied. "Would you like to hold her? Careful, she's rather… fragile."

"I can see that much," Masaru said slowly, moving towards the small baby.

Izumi sat up with one hand, the other making sure the infant didn't fall off her chest. She rolled the baby onto her back and placed her gently into Masaru's relatively uncalloused hands.

The businessman looked down at this tiny creature with glistening eyes full of love and … something else… worry? He bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow as he touched the tiny baby's cheek. Her minuscule arms reached for his massive finger and her mouth opened expecting to be fed or something. He moved his finger away from her mouth in wonder, triggering the girl to wail again.

"I'll take her," Izumi offered.

"What have the sages said about her?" Masaru asked as he handed the girl back to her mother, resting his elbows on his knees.

"They don't know, or they shouldn't know, not yet," Izumi replied.

"Are we keeping her?" Masaru asked.

Izumi shot him a death glare and turned slightly away from Masaru as she offered the infant her nipple.

"If you don't want her-"

"No, I do! I only meant that it will be hard all things considered. Ursa was supposed to be your last, eight years ago, and…"

"We will make do. If twenty-three years of training under azula has taught me anything, it's how to hide my true intentions. If someone does find out about this baby, and we find out about them early, I will suppress his or her memories." Izumi replied.

"Alright," Masaru said. "I trust you. Now may I please see her again?"

"Right," Izumi replied, untwisting so that she lay flat against her pillows again so Masaru could watch the feeding.

"Have you named her?"

"I thought I'd give you that honor, since… well… I did make the final call naming all of the others."

Masaru took a deep breath. "This is so sudden…" he said nervously.

"You don't have to name her now," Zuko offered. "I have heard of some parents not naming their child for the entire first year of life in case something happens to the child. They don't want to get too attached."

Masaru looked up in horror.

"Father, please leave," Izumi growled, frowning at some nondescript point at the foot of her bed.

"Was it something I said?" Zuko asked obliviously.

"Yes, obviously," Mai said, ushering him out of the room.

Masaru and Izumi waited for Izumi's parents to be gone before speaking again.

"Do you think she will live, being so tiny?" Izumi asked, looking down at the small creature suckling at her breast.

"She has to," Masaru replied.

"So what will we name her?"

"She may not be the strongest thing, or the fiercest, but she will be beautiful and smart. I know it already!"

"So what do you want to call her, oh so wise one?" Izumi asked impatiently.

"Miyoko."

"Miyoko," Izumi repeated. "I like that."

"For she is a beautiful child of a beautiful generation," Masaru explained, climbing onto the bed beside Izumi, draping an arm carefully over her body to wrap under their new baby. He pressed a kiss to the side of her face then rested his chin atop her head. He then tucked his free arm behind her neck pulling some stray hairs out of her face. She turned and smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his lips, before returning her gaze to their new baby.

"She is mine, Saru," Izumi said with a devious smile as she looked down at their little secret.

"No, Zumi. Not yours- _ours_." Masaru corrected her with a playful nudge, and another kiss.

"Alright, ours," Izumi relented, gazing back down at the feeding child.

They remained there the rest of the day, just staring at the tiny creature as it breathed there mostly in the lap of her mother, and occasionally in the hands of her father while the Fire Lady, Mai, watched from the doorway.

* * *

**160AG**

Izumi hid the girl just out of sight, only ever giving her to Masaru, Mai or Iliana. She taught her daughter all of the hallways and the rooms that she would ever have access to as well as any fun places her daughter might enjoy getting into. She showed the girl how to crawl into the grates and how to signal her or Masaru for help if she ever got stuck. She personally loosened the bolts on several of them so they were easier for her tiny daughter to kick through.

"Nobody can see you, okay, little one?" Izumi told her bending down to look at the child through the golden bars. "You're my little secret." the little girl stared back at her with wide amber eyes and blinked.

"Why? What will happen if they do see me?" she asked in her small little voice, touching her mother's hand through the golden grills of the vent.

"They might take you away from me, and I could not bear that, my sweet little dragon baby," Izumi replied. The little girl nodded. "I'll see you later this evening, I promise."

The little girl blinked again then turned and crawled away into the wall space of the palace wearing nothing but a napkin and a loose, brown dress that resembled more of a pillowcase with a hole for her head and arms than anything.

She followed her mother around the palace using the tunnels like a little street rat and appeared in her private offices, tea rooms, and during meals times with her grandmother Mai and sometimes her father, Masaru. Covered in ash and dust, she looked more like a homeless orphan more than she looked like the daughter of a princess. She never did eat much and remained so thin that it worried Izumi and Masaru both.

"Please finish your bowl before disappearing again," Izumi ordered the small girl as they sat with her, Masaru in a suit, and Izumi in her ceremonial robes.

"Hm," the small four-year-old girl slouched impatiently, wanting to go explore.

"You need to eat to grow up big and strong so that when you do enter the world, nobody can hurt you, so you can fight back bravely and not need anybody to shield you," Izumi told the girl.

"I know," she sighed, taking another small bite.

Izumi sighed and wiped a line of ash and dust off of the girl's forehead with her thumb. She bathed every night, yet always was filthy by dinner because of the vents that she had to live in to stay hidden.

"There has to be another way," Masaru said that evening after their daughter was asleep in their bed, looking like an angel from the spirit world with her perfectly heart shaped face and long black hair in a neat, loose braid. "It hurts to see her like that, living in the shadows, completely unknown."

"Saru, your youngest sons are already seventeen years old and in the army. How will you explain that you suddenly have a four year old?" Izumi asked.

"What about you?"

"I can murder anyone who tries to hurt her, and my father will back me."

"If they don't murder her first for existing."

"Don't speak that way," Izumi whispered harshly, turning to look back at their sleeping babe.

"I worry that she is not getting the attention she needs since all of you are expected to do so much internationally," Masaru sighed.

"My mother is helping, and Iliana. Don't worry my love, we'll figure something out"

* * *

**161AG**

Then one day, she started firebending.

"Where is Yoko?" Izumi asked Masaru at dinner. He shrugged.

They both checked the approved vent entrances and called for her to get no response.

Izumi tore off the grills and got down on her stomach. "Zumi, you don't fit in there, we'll find another way!"

"Like what?!" Izumi growled. "What if she was seen? What if she was taken!"

"She's not, I got her," Mai said, appearing with the four year old on her hip. The girl was hiding her face in the crook of her grandmother's neck.

"Yoko! What happened?" Izumi asked, taking the child from her mother and checking the girl's body and wiping fresh tears from her face, the tears making rivers on her daughter's dirt-covered face. Izumi tucked the child's head under her chin and held her tightly, fear still gripping her entire being as she quickly scanned the hallways for any non-family.

"Show them, Yoko. It will be okay. They don't feel the same pain as me, nor can they get burned," Mai said to the small child, tucking some of the girl's scraggly black hair behind her ear.

The girl sat up in her mother's arms, held out a tiny hand, and bent for her parents a little red flame.

Izumi looked up at Masaru. Neither were shocked, just… worried. Miyoko would need training so she wouldn't hurt herself in the vents, or accidentally asphyxiate herself in a small space with a flame.

Izumi heard the girl whimper and hide her face again in her mother's neck, afraid and ashamed. She'd never before seen anyone firebending or doing anything of the sort. She had only ever seen the portraits of the Fire Lord's with Fire in their hands and at their feet. She didn't realize someone as small as her could be capable of doing something so… frightening.

"Shhhh… don't be afraid of it, my love. It is just a little flame. It is like a tiny heartbeat. Fire is energy; it is life. It may be dangerous, but that is just nature. Respect its power, and you will be safe," she said cradling the scared four-year-old child in her arms and swaying in place until she stopped crying.

"I don't like it. It makes me feel… different." Miyoko replied in such such a small, quivering voice that brought a tear to Izumi's eyes.

"You'll get used to it, Sweet Love," Masaru said putting his arm around his two girls, rubbing Miyoko's back and leaning his chin on Izumi's head while Mai stood guard.

"We did," Izumi said, lifting Yoko's tiny chin with her index finger to make her look. Izumi held out her hand and made a matching red flame like Miyoko's then turned it yellow and orange and then green, purple, white and finally blue before closing her fingers and making the flame go away.

"I can do it too," Masaru said making a red and orange flame. "I am just not as talented as your dear mother and have much less of a temperature range," he explained making his red flame dance between both hands before bending it away.

Miyoko eyed them both warily, still suspicious then leaned back on her mother's chest and turned away, frowning, deep in thought.

The next day, Izumi rearranged her schedule, got her child some clothes more suitable for firebending and began training her baby in an open courtyard deep in Azula's quarter, far away from anybody who could possibly stumbling upon them and see.

* * *

**163AG**

Izumi was called before her father in the throne room. Such a thing only happened when the Fire Lord was particularly displeased with her. "Izumi, my daughter," he said gazing down upon her from behind the flames, not giving her permission to rise and face him. "Your ever-increasing absence has been noted."

"Yet my tasks are still completed on-time, so what is the matter?" Izumi questioned.

"Leave us," Zuko ordered his guards. They filed out.

"The nation needs you, Izumi."

"But so does Yoko! You know this!" Izumi argued looking up.

"Yoko needs a teacher, yes, but that doesn't have to be you!"

"I will not have some warlord come into my home and abuse my daughter!" Izumi yelled, her hair turning blue in anger.

"It doesn't have to be a warlord. It can be someone kinder. Azula, perhaps?"

"Yoko is frightened of her." Azula may be in her 60s, but she was still just as formidable as she was in her prime. Izumi had been scared of her in her teens; she couldn't imagine how terrified her small daughter was.

"Masaru, maybe?"

"He's too busy with Earthen Fire Refineries."

"A member of your Amber League?" Zuko suggested.

Izumi fell silent. T _hat…could work._ They swore their lives to serving the Nation by preserving Izumi's sanity so that when she ascends the throne, she won't burn her nation down after her first encounter with opposition.

"We can hide her and her teacher just like when Azula trained you in secrecy," Zuko suggested.

"Very well," Izumi said. "I'll speak to Masaru about selecting somebody."

* * *

Masaru surveyed all of the trainers in the camps for the Amber League and made his selection, then presented the firebending master to Izumi and Zuko. Wanting only the best for Miyoko, they decided to test the man by having Izumi fight him in Agni Kai. It ended with him on the ground begging mercy from the Princess.

"Singe a single hair on her body and I will personally see you roasted alive," Izumi threatened the firebending master. The next morning, she introduced the master to his new pupil, her scrawny little six-year-old.

"Miyoko, meet Master Nikoru," Izumi said to the young girl.

The master examined the young pupil. "Are you SURE she is even a firebender? She looks so— fragile—and— small." Nikoru commented.

"She looks fragile and small, but she is getting stronger. Yoko, pretend Master Nikoru is your greatest enemy and show him what you can do." Izumi ordered.

"But I thought you said to talk to your enemies first before first fighting and to try to make peace," Miyoko recited with a little furrowed brow and a small frown. Masaru and Nikoru both covered their laughter. Izumi felt both great pride and great embarrassment in that moment. She wanted to laugh, but needed her daughter to take her training seriously, so she took a deep breath and modified her request.

"In which case, pretend Master Nikoru is me telling you to stop reading and go to bed early."

Yoko nodded. She sprinted towards the man, jumped up turning twice in the air generating a ring of red fire then as she kicked it his way, turned the flame a hot blue throwing him into the opposite wall.

"Well done, Love," Izumi nodded with approval.

"Huh, well done, Princess. And you've taught her yourself thus far?" Nikoru asked Izumi.

"Yes," Izumi replied with a stiff nod.

"I'm impressed. It's a wonder why the Fire Sages ever doubt you."

With training taking up most of Miyoko's days, started seeing less and less of her mother. She saw her father, her grandmother, even her _grandfather_ more than her mother. She had less time to go in the vents and eavesdrop in on meetings and learn about proceedings with the Fire Nation and the outside world. She had less time to see her mother living.

* * *

**165AG**

One day, Miyoko asked Nikoru for the day off. Citing a sprained ankle, she decided to go see her mother. She climbed out from under the princess's desk and waited for her to return from the war room.

"Mother, why can't you teach me?" Miyoko asked, revealing herself.

Izumi shrieked and four guards broke in, Miyoko diving under before being seen.

"Princess, is everything alright?" they asked.

"Yes, just- a spider fly fell from the ceiling. You may leave," Izumi replied, clutching her chest. As the door closed, she addressed her daughter. "Yoko! You startled me!"

"I thought you said firebenders were never afraid," eight-year-old Miyoko responded, crawling out from her hiding place.

"I know, but in the office, it's different. I don't usually have visitors coming out from _under_ me," Izumi replied, taking off her crown and running her fingers through her hair.

"I just missed you," Miyoko said, climbing onto her mother's desk to sit before her.

"I missed you too, Love," Izumi said pulling the girl into her lap tucking her head under her chin, and holding her tight. "Sooooo much," she added, planting a kiss on the eight-year-old's head.

"Where have you been?" Miyoko asked, looking her mother directly in the eye to make sure she was still in there.

"Working," Izumi replied with a heavy sigh looking at the papers on her desk. "Diplomatic ventures, representing my father in the United Republic and Earth Kingdom. He goes to the Water Tribes. He's a fool sometimes if I don't say so myself. My inner fire is stronger than his. If he were attacked in the tundra, he wouldn't last. I am trying to get him to switch regions, but he doesn't listen. Stubborn old man, he is" Izumi replied with a sigh of frustration.

"Can I help in any way, to lighten your load maybe?" Miyoko asked.

"What do you mean?" Izumi asked looking at her daughter strangely.

"I mean, if you're a princess and I'm your daughter, doesn't that make me a princess too? Maybe I could take over the United Republic and go on trips like you!" Miyoko offered. "If we went during the same month, instead of you going for two months, we could spend the extra month together on Ember Island or something! The place from Grandma's stories?"

Izumi smiled sadly. "I appreciate the sentiment, I do, but it cannot happen for along while, okay?"

"Why?" Miyoko asked, internally crushed, but trying to hide her emotions like her mother always did.

"Because... even though I love your father very much, he is not my husband. It is because of that that you cannot be a royal... not until I become Fire Lord and change things," Izumi explained.

"Oh," Miyoko said sadly.

"Don't be sad, Yoko," Izumi said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. "Besides. You really don't want to be a princess. It is truly bitter work. I despise it most times." Izumi confessed.

"But... you shouldn't have to suffer it alone," Yoko said quietly, hanging her head in dismay. Just then there was a knocking on the door.

"Go!" Izumi ordered. Yoko bolted under the desk and Izumi replaced her crown in her bun.

"Enter!" Izumi called.

"Princess Izumi—" a voice addressed her opening the door.

"Sage Miu?" Izumi gasped.

Yoko didn't like the fear in her mother's voice.

"We've heard rumors of another bastard."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Izumi growled.

"And that she's living in the palace." Miu replied.

Izumi threw her pen down, raging with fury. "Fine! So what if she lives in the palace? So do several dozen other children of servants."

"She is not the child of a servant—"

"Really? Am I not a servant to you? To the country?" Izumi raged.

"You are a Princess of the Fire Nation," the Fire Sage Miu reminded her.

"Then treat me as such and stop telling me what to do!" Izumi barked.

"If the nation finds out about this girl born AFTER Ursa, we will eliminate her."

"If you get anywhere near her, I will personally destroy you, Miu. And if I am not with her, I will instruct her to. I won't let you rob me of another piece of my soul!" Izumi threatened.

"She not an issue you can continue to ignore."

"She is not an issue! You are!" Izumi responded. "Now get out of my office and never show your face here again, unless you want to get burned!"

Miyoko clasped her hand over her mouth. _Eliminate? Was being illegitimate such a bad thing_?

Izumi waited for the door to slam shut and the footsteps to recede before crouching down under the desk to find her baby shaking with fear.

"Yoko-" Izumi began to say before the child dove into the vents and crawled away.

* * *

**167AG**

Izumi went to Masaru's house to fetch her ten-year-old baby. Masaru looked angry with her.

"Where's Yoko?" Izumi asked.

"You missed it?"

"Missed what?"

"You missed our trip," Masaru said. "We were going to go as a family and you missed it."

"There was an emergency session! I couldn't just leave."

"It was Yoko's turn to meet the DRAGONS!"

The sun warriors. The ritual. The dance. The eternal flame… Izumi ran up the stairs of Masaru's estate faster than her legs could carry her to find her daughter laying flat on her stomach with her face buried in the sheets.

"Yoko! I'm sorry-"

"You're not!" She yelled, lashing out with a green flame. "You say you are but you're not! If you were, things would change but they don't! So just go away! I don't need you anymore! Just go— serve your country like the legitimate Princess that you are and leave me to my vents!"

"Yoko!" Izumi rushed forward, reaching out a hand.

"Don't touch me!" Yoko lashed out again but with a blue flame. She sat with her back to her mother and her knees curled against her chest, sobbing. Her arms and legs were still so skinny. Izumi took a step back to give her room to breathe, swallowing her tears to focus on her daughter.

"How was the ceremony at least?"

"Horrible. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I got distracted by my own fears and let the flame go out halfway up the stairs to their lair. I thought they were going to roast me alive, and that I wouldn't even get to say goodbye to you because you weren't even there," Miyoko sniffled.

"Yoko—" Izumi's Heart broke. How could she even respond? Her daughter would _never_ forgive her for missing such a milestone. Izumi tried to reach out again.

"I said DON'T TOUCH ME!" Miyoko leapt out of bed and across the room in one jump into a corner with her knees pulled tight and her hands out in front of her as if to ward off some monstrous predator instead of her own mother. Izumi couldn't believe what she was seeing.

She wanted to just envelop the child in her arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't. The girl wouldn't believe her anymore since her actions told the girl everything. She was broken and afraid, everything Izumi never wanted her to be. Instead of forcing the girl to accept an the embrace she was fighting, Izumi relented and walked away.

"She'll come around," Masaru told her as she left Yoko's room. Izumi didn't hear him, for she was already crying as she ran to their bedroom.

* * *

Miyoko went in secrecy, back to the castle. It was her first time traveling between her Father's and Mother's home unaccompanied. She knew the guard patterns, which allowed her to slip into the palace walls unnoticed and make her way to her grandmother's apartments. Once there, she waited patiently for the Fire Lady to return from whatever function she was attending.

"Grandma Mai, could you teach me how to be a princess?" Miyoko asked, coming out of her hiding place behind a lounger in the parlor.

"Why?" Mai asked the girl.

"I just thought it might be helpful someday, and maybe... if I acted more like Mother, she'll want to spend more time with me," Miyoko replied, unmasking her sadness.

Mai's heart broke for the child. "Oh Yoko! Your mother already wants to spend time with you. She just can't. She loves you and would never leave your side if she could. You don't need to act like a princess. She's just really busy meeting the demands of the Nation."

"Can I please learn anyways? Maybe then at least I'll have something to take my mind off of things. Firebending gets boring," Miyoko asked.

"Okay, I'll teach you. But it won't be easy, sweetheart. Learning to be a princess is not at all how they write it in the fairy tales, ESPECIALLY learning to be a princess of the our great Nation," Mai informed the girl.

"I understand," Miyoko replied.

The very next day, they begun her lessons without tutors. Just Mai teaching her granddaughter everything. "You may not speak unless spoken to, you may not ever finish your plate of food..."

"But what if there's barely any food on the plate to begin with and I'm hungry?" Miyoko questioned.

"Then you starve," Mai deadpanned.

"But why?" Miyoko asked.

"It's customary to show you're not a peasant-"

"But I thought we were supposed to sympathize with the peasants-"

"That's where the starving comes in."

"What is done with the leftovers? If it doesn't at least go to those in need, I'm going to scream." Miyoko responded seriously, looking at her grandmother with a raised brow.

Completely unfazed, Mai stared back. "Yoko, princesses don't question authority."

"Mother does all the time. I hear her fighting the Fire Sages every time they come by her office to try to get just a minute of her time—" Miyoko muttered.

"Yoko, do you want to learn how to be a _proper_ princess or not?" Mai asked.

Miyoko sighed. "Yes." _Mother is right. It is bitter work._

The etiquette wasn't so bad, and neither was the heightened expectations for her firebending. But having to keep ones mouth shut was driving Yoko to near insanity. Miyoko got to learn how to dress nicely in new clothes that Grandma Mai had made for her and some days, they both went undercover and ventured into the capital for Miyoko to practice her manners in different venues and restaurants in the Fire Nation Capital. Mai showed the ten-year-old the streets, museums, art galleries, operas, and plays... It was overwhelming. There was _so_ much more to the world than she had ever imagined.

* * *

A few days later, Masaru asked Izumi if she'd seen the girl. No.

"She left for the palace shortly after you returned. I thought she went to find you," Masaru said confusedly.

"Well she didn't."

"She's been with me," Mai told Izumi later that evening. "She wanted to learn to be a proper princess for when you DO legitimize her. She wants to help lighten your load."

"Really? Why?"

"She misses you, Izumi."

"She can come visit."

"A few minutes between meetings is not enough." Mai replied sternly.

Izumi became the spy, sneaking around and watching her daughter's lessons from balconies. She acted so differently now. The mischievous spark in her eyes was gone. Her optimism and energy completely decimated. She looked like a ghost. Her hair was always clean and tied neatly, her chin held high, her shoulders down and back, and her torso rigid as a board. She walked with the pride of a war hero, or a survivor.

"Yoko," Izumi said, entering her room to find her child practicing calligraphy.

"Mother," she replied. Not turning around.

"I wanted to apologize for... for everything— for missing so much of your life."

"Don't feel sorry, Mother. I understand that your duty as a princess is to serve your country however the Fire Lord sees fit."

"Thank you for understanding," Izumi said.

Miyoko looked out her window. "I also know my duty as the bastard of a princess is to stay out of your life so you can do your job accordingly."

Izumi's eyes widened. How did her daughter hate herself? Why had she become complicit in her own daughter's self-torture? "No, please tell me you don't truly believe that. PLEASE!"

"You said so yourself. Nobody can know about me or they'll take me away. I'm just a hindrance to you being a good princess and they want to protect the royal family."

Izumi fell to her knees. "Yoko, I'm begging you—"

Miyoko pivoted in her chair and looked down at her mother.

"Please, Princess Izumi. Save your energy for what's important. The Earth King will be here soon and I don't think The Fire Lord would appreciate him seeing you weeping."

"You are my daughter, Miyoko. You are and always will be, and I am so sorry for hurting you! I am so sorry for not realizing. If there is anything I can do to make up for it all, please! Tell me. I will walk away from it all if I could! I can at least take some time off, we can go somewhere—"

"You can make it up to me by doing your duty to our nation and our family and stop crying. I'm okay. I know my place. It's time you've understood yours," Miyoko replied, looking down at her mother with annoyance as opposed to the apathy that she conveyed before. Izumi curled her fingers into the ground, her hair streaked blue with grief.

* * *

"What can I do to change her perception of me?" Izumi asked Masaru as she turned down her end of their bed at his estate.

"By changing? Becoming more involved in her life?"

"How?" Izumi asked.

"Just by being here. If you want. Maybe you can come to the meeting I have with her teacher in a few days. Then you can hear how she is doing in school," Masaru suggested.

"I'd like that, since she won't say one word to me that isn't 'get back to work'." Izumi's said climbing into bed at Masaru's Estate.

"Did you ever find out why the moon tea didn't work?" Masaru asked climbing in after her, pulling her over.

"Someone has replaced it with a placebo."

"Who? I don't know."

* * *

The next day, Izumi gathered all of her hair in a bun at the base of her neck and secured it with a crimson ribbon. She dressed a little nicer than what she usually wore at Masaru's Estate but not something too nice that would indicate royalty. She settled for some casual dark red robes with a black over coat and no gold.

"You look... different," Masaru commented.

"Good. I don't want to be recognized," Izumi replied tying the coat at her waist.

"So what's your story going to be?"

"My story?"

"Yoko doesn't have a mother listed on her school papers."

"I can be your girlfriend or your concubine. I don't mind either," Izumi responded bluntly.

Masaru sighed. "Fine, you are my girlfriend. And if they ask why Yoko never mentions you?"

"The girl despises me, obviously. Unfortunately for her, my love for you is greater than my fear of her, the little baby dragon," Izumi replied, applying a light pink gloss over her lips before turning to face him.

"Ready?" he asked, extending a hand.

"Ready," Izumi replied accepting his.

They drove to the school. It was so strange for Izumi to hear the voices of so many children since she never did have the opportunity to go to any of her sons' schools as they grew up.

"Our appointment is twenty minutes after the bell," Masaru said parking their Satomobile. He got out first and opened the door for her and held out his hand. Izumi noticed immediately that Masaru was well known on the campus as children and parents alike began pointing and staring.

"Was this a bad idea?" Izumi asked, beginning to second guess everything.

"Don't worry," Masaru replied. "This school is far enough from the palace that none of the other lords who would recognize you would dare to send their children here." He rested his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to their daughter's primary classroom where they would wait the remaining ten minutes before the meeting.

"If school only just got out ten minutes ago, where's Yoko?"

"Probably off with one of the clubs she's joined."

"Clubs?"

"She's on a recreational kuai ball team that practices five days a week, and she's joined a pai sho club and calligraphy. That each meet about twice a week.

"Spirits, how does she have time for that?"

"She's like you in that sense,"

"What do you mean?"

"She smart, quick and has the energy to run non-stop from dawn till dusk if necessary." Masaru said with his arm around his lady as they sat on the bench outside the classroom waiting.

"I'll see you next week Kami!" Yoko's voice called as she appeared out of an adjacent building waving to another pupil.

"See you next week, Miyoko!" The other pupil replied.

Miyoko ran over with her eyes fixed on her father. Then she noticed the woman beside him and blanched.

"Long time no see," Izumi said plainly to her daughter just as the door to Yoko's classroom opened as a mother and a son exited.

"Thank you for coming!" the teacher said. "Mr. Lee and..."

"Feng, Ziyuan Feng," Izumi replied.

"Ms. Feng. Nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. Dao, Miyoko's teacher. And what is your relationship to Mr. Lee?"

"I'm his—"

"—girlfriend," Masaru answered for her quickly in case she had forgotten.

"Oh! And how long have you known each other?" Mrs. Dao asked, eying Izumi warily as she waved the three into the room.

"Our whole lives, but circumstances separated us for a while. Only recently I got a post at his company and we reunited and... here we are now," Izumi shrugged.

"Congratulations. I only ask because Miyoko has never mentioned a _prospective_ mother."

"We just… haven't seen eye-to-eye in a long while," Izumi replied, not looking at Yoko as they sat down across from the teacher's desk.

"So here are copies of her progress report for each of you. Miyoko is currently enrolled in the standard six core subjects that this school offers which are: Language Mechanics, Composition and Literature, Mathematics, History, Alchemy, World Cultures and Philosophies as well as two electives: Orchestra and Theatre.

"She is an incredibly unique pupil who has managed to negotiate terms of enrollment with both the orchestra conductor and the theatre director enabling herself to participate in only half the rehearsals and yet still perform at the same or even higher caliber of the other performers. Despite her huge time allotment to the arts, her marks in Mathematics, Alchemy and Language mechanics have remained high, never once dipping below perfection. That being said, we, as teachers are still very concerned with her marks in Composition and Literature, and World Cultures and Philosophy, which are less than satisfactory..." Mrs. Dao said, turning the page of her copy of the progress report.

"Just because the prompts asked for one's HONEST opinion and mine differs from yours doesn't mean that—" Miyoko began to protest.

"Quiet, Yoko," Izumi commanded, silencing the girl instantly.

"If Miyoko holds less than conventional opinions on worldly matters, yet still completes the assignment per prompt within the constraints of the rubric in the more subjective classes, why is it she is still marked down?" Masaru asked flipping through the more detailed break down on his daughter's performance in more specific areas, seeing nothing less than "O" for outstanding. His daughter's structure and format was all marked highly, completeness of thoughts, collection of evidence all good. Only the final mark was a fail.

"Here is a sample of her writing. While eloquent, the school cannot condone or promote blatant disloyalty to the crown." The teacher said.

* * *

**Prompt: write 300 lines on whether or not you agree with one of the following and why.**

**1\. Fire Nation involvement in policing the black-market trade city in the heart of the Si Wong Desert.**

**2\. The debates between the Fire Lord Zuko and Grand General Hao regarding the sale of obsolete military artillery to**  
**foreign parties.**

**3\. The conscious decision of the Fire Princess Izumi to not involve either of her children in the regular duties of the Royal**  
**Family.**

_In Republic City the orphan situation is so dire that all four nations are working together for the first time since before the Air Nomad genocide to help alleviate the strain on the United Republic of Nations while in the Si Wong Desert, there is an entire city dedicated to illicit dealings in the realms of drugs and human trafficking. What do these two disparate issues have in common? They both could benefit from the services of Prince Iroh II and Princess Ursa of the Fire Nation. However, Crown Princess Izumi has chosen to not involve her children, claiming that they need more time to become acquainted with the world's workings before becoming more involved in national and international policy decisions. This claim is wholly invalid especially for the Prince Iroh, whom by the ripe age of 33 is already a man well traveled with vast experience in military and leadership as well as international negotiations. While a majority of the Fire Nation takes this explanation at face value, there is more to the Crown Princess's explanation than meets the eye. Rather, Prince Iroh has not been involved in decision making due to his high-level engagement with the United Republic Forces; thus, as a military leader of a foreign power he cannot be trusted to work favorably on behalf of the Fire Nation. Princess Ursa, on the other hand, has shown her devotion to the Fire Nation through her bending studies, yet she as well has shirked her royal duties with her mother's consent; instead, an ambassador has taken on the majority of her duties. This begs the question: would the Fire Nation be better served by a republic framework modeled after the United Republic of Nations?_

* * *

"We are going to have a long conversation about this later." Masaru said folding the essay sample in half before tucking it into his breast pocket.

"Long conversation, huh? Was it not you who told me that brevity is the soul of wit?" Miyoko asked.

Masaru sighed and Izumi rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to strike her insolent child.

"Does the school have a firebending master that offers lessons to the pupils?" Izumi asked, changing the subject away from her daughter's less-than conventional writings.

"Yes. The school has a physical education class that segregates benders from non-benders. Miyoko was placed in the highest level class of firebending with Master Duy-Lam but decided her time there would be wasted. She then challenged her instructor to an Agni Kai with the agreement that if she won, she would receive credit for the class and enroll in a second elective."

Izumi frowned disapprovingly. "So you think you're a master?" she asked Miyoko.

"Yes, no thanks to you," Miyoko muttered slouching a little in the seat between her parents.

Izumi rolled her eyes. _Maybe I should test you._

"Is there anything else we should know about Yoko's schooling? Is she getting along with the other children?" Masaru asked.

"Some of them." the teacher replied a little less confidently.

"Only some?" Izumi asked, her eyes narrowing, getting the sense there was more to what the teacher was telling.

"Miyoko, will you please step out of the room," the teacher asked.

She stood and exited silently.

"We know she's bullied. She never complains about it for some strange reason but myself and some of the other instructors have heard her being called the Highborn Bastard of Earthen Fire Refineries."

"And have you confronted the children saying this?" Izumi asked sternly.

"Yes. They seem to think that because she doesn't react that it's okay to say what they say-"

"Have they suffered any consequences for their cruelty?" Izumi asked darkly, standing up.

"N-no, Ms. Feng."

"Ziyuan, cool it-" Masaru ordered reaching out a hand to give her a small dose of dark lightning upon contact to slow her heart and calm her down. Izumi glared at him before sitting back down angrily. "Thank you, Mrs. Dao for informing us on my daughter's performance in school and her disposition among her peers. We will definitely be speaking with her about her rather… unconventional beliefs regarding our royal family's decision to exclude it's youngest members from political activity. We completely agree that disloyalty should not be rewarded and will express that to her this evening. Will that be all for the meeting?"

"Yes, I believe so," Mrs. Dao said checking her papers.

"Very well, then thank you for your time," Masaru said hurriedly, not letting go of Izumi as the three of them stood up. They bowed to each other then all made their way to the door.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Lee," Mrs. Dao said opening the door for them.

As soon as the door closed, Masaru spoke. "What time will you be home, Yoko?"

"Seven, like always," Miyoko replied instantly.

"Good. Don't be late. We have a lot to discuss," Masaru replied turning away as Miyoko also started in the other direction.

"Wait! You don't pick her up from school?" Izumi asked.

"She can find her way home on her own," Masaru replied.

"Is that safe?" Izumi asked.

Masaru leaned into her ear. "She learned from the dragons, she is safe," he replied.

Izumi took a deep breath and looked back at Yoko who waited for absolute clearance before sprinting off to resume her extracurricular activities.

"She's still just a girl,"

"But she is YOUR girl, and you, too hate being perceived as weak, Princess. So don't do it to her." he reminded her in a whisper. "Yoko, you may go," Masaru confirmed and the girl took off sprinting.

* * *

That evening, Miyoko came home to the estate to find both parents waiting at the dinner table for her.

"You're still here," she said glaring at Izumi.

"And you're still surly," Izumi replied pointedly.

"Enough, BOTH of you," Masaru snapped taking the essay sample out of his coat pocket and setting it on the table before Miyoko. "Explain yourself."

"I did, very well according to Mrs. Deng, the history teacher," Miyoko replied.

"Yoko," Izumi began sternly. "You cannot be having these- thoughts!"

"And why not? Grandfather said that all are now allowed freedom of speech under his regime. Why CAN'T I express my opinions openly?"

"Because you are a daughter of a member of the royal family-" Izumi began to say.

"But _I_ am _NOT_ a member of the royal family, so what does it matter?!" Miyoko asked, heading straight past the dining room to the hall that lead to the stairs to the resident quarters of the massive estate.

"Yoko!" Izumi yelled, chasing after her.

"Zumi-"

"You listen to me right now!" Izumi yelled, grabbing the child by the wrist and pulling her close, bending down to be eye-level with the child.

"You ARE MY DAUGHTER whether you like it or not and though you may THINK that you don't need me, I need you too, okay?" Izumi said, holding onto her. Miyoko freed her hands with a quick yank.

"Need me for what? To distract you from doing what you're supposed to do? I KNOW I was a mistake! I KNOW I was an accident. I KNOW I am not wanted by anybody except MAYBE Father, and CERTAINLY not you! So just leave me alone and let me pave my own way! Isn't that what you want for all your children? For them to be what they want to be without the Fire Sages dictating their every day and their every developmental stage? Just- go back to the palace, Princess and leave me be!" Miyoko yelled.

"Yoko, you still have to eat dinner!" Masaru tried.

"NOT HUNGRY!" Miyoko replied, slamming her door.

* * *

"What do I do?" Izumi asked Masaru in tears that evening.

"Just… stay. Persistence is key."

"I thought that by keeping her near me, I would be protecting her from the world, but she just… hates me!"

"She doesn't hate you. She just wants to feel loved as does anybody. She just needs time. Time alone and time with you, believe me!" Masaru said.

* * *

Izumi made Miyoko's lunch and added a bag of roasted fire flakes. She added a raspberry tart to the girl's after-school snack bag, and a bottle of ramune in the pocket opposite her water in her satchel. She followed Masaru to work and learned a little about the factory proceedings then waited at home for her daughter to return.

"Do you ever get bored in the evenings, when you're not working?" Izumi asked playing Pai Sho with Masaru for the first time since they were in their teens.

"Not at all. Usually I read the paper when I get home, check up on the Amber League's activities, ask Lu and Yen about the guards, their personal lives, their wives and children... Sometimes I go for a walk along the docks or accompany the chef to the marketplace…"

"How doesn't that get boring?"

"I always have company," Masaru replied, playing his white lotus piece. "Don't you get bored reading and signing the same papers all day all alone in your office?"

"Sometimes there are meetings. Some with Father present, and some without," Izumi replied, moving an airbender piece. "Some generals aren't too annoying, same with the ministers."

"How come I haven't heard of them?" Masaru asked capturing her airbender piece with a firebender.

Izumi shrugged as she played a water tribe piece to take his firebender. "They're more or less always the same. Never interesting, just not annoying," Izumi replied.

"And what are their names?" Masaru asked, inching his white lotus tile closer to the center of the board.

"Mister Jung, the Minister of Infrastructure in the Fire Nation, General Xong Fu of the Reiben Island, and Minister Cao of Telecommunications. He actually agrees with me that we should invest in extend wiring to all homes and not restrict access to the telegram network to the wealthy," Izumi replied moving an earthbender into position to attack Masaru's white lotus tile.

"Hm… I'll have to thank them all for making your days at the palace bearable," Masary said, moving his avatar piece. "I win!" Masaru said showing Izumi the board. His avatar perfectly in position to capture her 'trapped' white lotus tile.

Just then the door opened and Yoko returned home.

She took one glance at Izumi and started for her room.

"Yoko, if you run away one more time, I'm taking away your lute and burning it," Masaru threatened.

Miyoko froze. "You wouldn't."

"Try me," Masaru replied.

She sighed and joined them in the parlor.

"Take my place and beat your mother for me, will you? I have to go check on how dinner is coming. Don't worry. She's not that good honestly, and such a disgrace to Great Uncle Iroh who taught us both how to play," Masaru told the girl.

"Thanks, Saru!" Izumi called after Masaru, frowning.

Miyoko snickered as she helped to reset the tiles.

"Do you really suck that badly at pai sho? Father's not usually so demeaning," Miyoko asked.

"With me he is, because he knows he can get away with it." Izumi replied, pressing her hands together above the table, then opening them to show they were empty as her daughter mirrored her.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes?"

"More than anything?"

"No."

"What do you love most?"

"My babies."

"Am I really one of them? One of yours?" Miyoko asked.

Izumi cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Why would you even ask such a thing?"

"Because you spend a majority of your time working for the nation and not… being a mother." Miyoko replied.

"And yet here I am now, risking exposure, risking my family name trying to make up for lost time. Why would I do that if I weren't certain that you, Yoko, are my own flesh and blood, my baby? Why would I keep you near me in the palace when you were young? Why would I personally oversee your firebending training and be so adamant about you being able to protect yourself as you grow up?"

Miyoko shrugged.

"I already lost one daughter to the Fire Sages." Izumi confessed to Miyoko.

"Princess Ursa?" Miyoko asked.

Izumi nodded. "She was just a little girl when they sent her away to a boarding school. You attend a day school. You get to come home and see your family. She only gets to return on the holidays: the solstices and season's festivals. She changed that first year. They tried to brainwash her into an imperialistic little shit. Fortunately she was stronger than they had hoped."

"Where is she now?" Miyoko asked.

"Traveling. Dropped out of school, thank the spirits!"

"Alone?"

"She wanted to go alone. She wanted to prove herself capable and independent as she traveled to study the ways of the benders of other elements."

"So you let her travel the world alone, but don't trust me to walk home from school on my own?" Miyoko asked.

"Ursa is eighteen. You're only ten, AND you're tiny, for your age" Izumi replied bluntly.

"That is true," Miyoko sighed, moving another piece.

"What were you like when you were my age, Mother? Did you go to school like Ursa?"

Izumi laughed as a flood of memories rushed forth in her head. "I had tutors at the Palace. They kept me away from other children, since there was still so much resistance to change. I was born only five years after the end of the great war, so many of my would have been classmates were very anti-Zuko and anti-international cooperation. My parents worried I'd get bullied or even assassinated if I went to school."

"Did you have anybody your own age?"

"Your father," Izumi said with a smile.

"What did you do in a day?"

"Lessons typically nine hours a day. Sometimes from early morning until late afternoon, sometimes midday until night. Sometimes they split it up with a brief gap of free time in the middle," Izumi replied. "I learned how to adapt to an ever-changing daily schedule."

"What did you do on your free time?"

"Play pranks on the palace staff with your father."

"Pranks? A Princess?"

"Would you believe it? One of my favorites was after Masaru learned how to brew wildfyre in alchemy. It is a type of liquid that once lit doesn't extinguish for DAYS no matter what you pour on it or what bender tries to extinguish it."

"That sounds dangerous," Miyoko said suspiciously.

"It is dangerous, but it was still fun to light up the bathrooms and watch all of the fancy lords and ladies have to just piss on the flames or risk wetting themselves and their fancy robes," Izumi replied.

"OH! Mother! That is absolutely disgusting!"

"What is?" Masaru asked, returning as Izumi snickered at her daughter's discomfort.

"You did NOT light the bathrooms up with wildfyre and watch the nobles of the court piss on the flames."

Masaru went red in the face and turned accusingly to Izumi. "IZUMI!"

"Oh my god! My parents are idiots!" Miyoko exclaimed.

"Aren't all parents idiots to their own children?" Izumi asked with a smile.

"I suppose," Miyoko sighed.

"Excuse me, Mister Lee, Princess Izumi," a messenger asked, arriving. "It is your Father, Princess. He requests your audience immediately."

Izumi groaned and looked down at her daughter with longing.

"It's the effort that counts," Miyoko shrugged. "Your nation needs you, Princess Izumi. Just… don't EVER forget that we need you too."

"I won't, my love," Izumi replied, kissing the top of her daughter's head before following the messenger back to the palace.


	28. The Coronation

**167AG**

Izumi entered the hall and stopped exactly twenty feet short of the throne and got down on one knee and bowed her head. "You called for me, Father?"

"Everyone else except the Princess, leave," Zuko ordered.

"Yes, my lord." The guards all marched out leaving Izumi and Zuko alone.

"Izumi, rise," Zuko ordered, his tone unreadable.

Izumi stood and looked up at the wall of red flames that shielded her father from view.

"I need to ask a favor of you, Izumi," Zuko said standing on his throne, only his silhouette visible.

"Anything," Izumi replied dutifully.

"You have been shadowing me for twenty seven years..."

"Yes?"

"You know the Fire Nation inside out..."

"I don't, but I like to think that I do."

"You've traveled to the farthest reaches of the Northern Tundra and the South Pole..."

"Yes."

"You've met and learned the ways of the people of the Earth Kingdom cities, villages, swamps, and desert..."

"Yes."

"And you've managed our relations well with all of them and the United Republic..."

"I've tried but there's still so much left to be improved. None of it has been optimized yet but, I just need a little more time."

"And you will have more time, more time, and more authority to do as you choose," Zuko reassured her.

Izumi looked up at him as his intentions dawned on her.

"What are you-Father, no! I'm not ready!" the Crown Princess cried.

"You are, Izumi. The favor I need to ask you, is that when those flames need to be lit again tomorrow, they be your flames, Izumi. Yours now and forever. _You are ready_."

"Father, I-" Izumi began to protest, thinking of her so… delicate relationship with Yoko at the moment.

"Izumi, I know you have reservations about taking charge, but the people _will_ follow you. They've seen your raw strength, they've seen your effectiveness in international negotiations. They have never protested any decision you've made…"

"That is not true and you know it! They have protested my desire to train my own daughter in firebending. They think I am foolish, they think I am weak because I am a woman. They think my place is in a bedroom, not on a throne, Father, don't pretend you don't see it. They hate me!"

"They don't, trust me, Izumi. Part of the reason why I am abdicating instead of leaving the throne to you when I die is so that if you have any questions, your mother, your aunt, and I are all still here to advise you during the transition, we will be here to guide you. But you must step up, Izumi. You are what the nation needs now as the world pushes forward into the future. You have never been a prisoner of another country. You have have never committed a war crime-"

"But I HAVE committed murder-"

"You've close relationships with people from all four nations. Your progressiveness will benefit all greatly. It's your turn to light the torch."

Seeing now that Zuko was not going to take no for an answer, Izumi relented with a heavy sigh. "How soon will the coronation be?"

"Tomorrow morning," Zuko replied.

Izumi looked up at the throne, imagining herself there... alone… not by her father's side, having to conduct every meeting, listen to all of the generals and the ministers drone on and on about petty things.

"I know it is a lot and may seem sudden, but it isn't," Zuko said coming through the flames. "We've all known that you've been ready for quite a while, Izumi," he added, hugging his daughter. "And frankly, I would have given you the throne at least a decade ago."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Izumi said nothing. What was there left to say? This wasn't a gift. Just more responsibility. Just another burden for her to bear while the guilt from neglecting her daughter due to her political obligations still loomed over her head.

"Is that all, Father?" Izumi asked formally.

"Yes," Zuko replied.

"May I return to Masaru's estate for the evening?"

"May your mother and I join you?"

"While you are still Fire Lord, we are in no position to refuse," Izumi replied.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair with just Mai, Zuko, Masaru, Izumi, and Miyoko.

 _Mother was so happy before she left, what happened?_ Miyoko asked herself upon her mother's return. "Grandmother, why is Mother sad again?" Miyoko asked.

"Why don't you ask her?" Mai suggested. Izumi looked up, also curious.

"Because I don't want to make her even more sad," Miyoko explained as if her mother weren't there.

"May I tell her?" Zuko asked Izumi.

"Of course," Izumi said quietly, barely touching her food.

"Your mother is going to be crowned Fire Lord tomorrow," Zuko answered the small child.

Miyoko took a moment to process it. "Does this mean I can come out of hiding and finally help you all with your various diplomatic ventures? Does this mean I can be legitimized?" Miyoko asked excitedly.

Izumi couldn't help but chuckle. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Love, but it is not so simple. Throughout the years, I have come to realize, it won't be so easy to enact such change that quickly."

"Oh," Miyoko said sadly.

"But I will do everything I can to get for you the freedom that you deserve. I know you didn't choose this life of secrecy."

"I didn't. But I am glad I am here, because I have you again," Miyoko said looking up at Izumi with her wide, almost hopeful amber eyes.

After dinner, the Royal Family had to return to the palace for some final preparations for the coronation the next day.

"Yoko, would you like to come with me? You can sleep in my bed again, like old times," Izumi offered.

Miyoko considered it then looked to her father for permission.

"Go. I'll be there tomorrow morning," Masaru told her.

Miyoko ran over to her mother who swept the girl up into her arms.

"Aren't I too big to carry all the way to the palace?" Miyoko asked expressing concern for her mother's wellbeing.

"Yoko, you're scarcely fifty pounds. How weak a Fire Lord would I be if I couldn't carry my own daughter home one evening?" Izumi asked smiling, touching her nose to her baby's.

Miyoko laughed and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. They remained standing there by the entrance to the secret tunnel for a moment, Yoko in Izumi's arms, Zuko and Mai waiting patiently to go.

"I love you so much more than anything in this world, Yoko. Know that, remember it, please." Izumi said softly, stroking the girl's long black hair and feeling her heartbeat.

"I do," Miyoko replied. The royal family and Miyoko descended the steps into the secret tunnel and walked back to the palace.

* * *

Miyoko waited on Izumi's bed for her mother to return. An hour passed.

"So sorry! I was having rooms readied for you and your brothers and Saru! Ones that you can decorate like at your father's estate. Here, a nightgown for you if you would like to wear it," Izumi offered, handing her daughter a brand new custom-made silk piece of clothing.

Miyoko examined it. It all seemed so surreal. She watched her mother remove her crown, take down her hair and brush it, then remove her armor and set it atop a dresser. She firebent into some nondescript space on the wall and a secret door opened.

"WOAH! What's that?" Miyoko asked, watching her mother disappear into it.

Izumi laughed. "Just my closet. Your father had the same mechanisms installed at his house and inspired me to do the same here," Izumi explained as she untied her robes and slipped them off, discarding them into a laundry bin. She watched her mother pull a similar nightgown to her own on and tie it at the waist. Then she pulled down a girdle of sorts and put it over her robe.

"Why do you need that?"

"To keep the spine straight,"

"Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Yes, but my Mother says it's necessary."

"But why do you listen?"

"Because she is my mother."

"Will you still have to listen even when you're Fire lord?"

"Probably."

"Why?"

Izumi strode over and climbed into bed beside her daughter.

"Because no matter your status or your rank, a girl will always remain her mother's baby," Izumi replied tucking a lock of hair behind Miyoko's ear affectionately.

Miyoko smiled and laid down beside her mother, curling up in the crook of her body.

Izumi smiled and raised her hand to beckon all of the flames on the torches to go out, leaving the only light in the room of that from the moon. Just as she closed her eyes, she felt someone lift a blanket over her and her baby.

"Thanks, Mother," Izumi said.

"Sleep well, My Love. You're ready," Mai whispered kissing Izumi's head before rounding the bed to kiss Miyoko as well.

After the footsteps recessed down the hall, Miyoko spoke in barely a whisper. "You're right!"

"About what?" Izumi asked with a smile.

"Even you will remain a baby in your mother's eyes too."

"Mothers are ALWAYS right," Izumi whispered back kissing the top of her girl's head.

* * *

Miyoko woke to find her mother already up and bathed. She put her fists together and her hair turned blue for a quick instant then black again but was dried. Miyoko gasped.

"Good, you're awake! I've set your clothes out on my side of the bed. You'll rendez-vous with your father and your brothers at around nine, after breakfast then attend the coronation at eleven. Saru will do… something with you until two when you shall all have an audience with me to do… something- Can you remember that?"

Miyoko nodded.

"Good," Izumi said, coming over to kiss the girl. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer to pull out some clean bindings.

"Nope! No bindings today, Princess!" Iliana called hurrying in with a team of servants each carrying a box of varying sizes..

"That could only mean one thing," Izumi muttered, walking over to the bed.

"New robes. New armor…" Iliana listed out opening the various boxes. "And yes, a new corset."

"Great," Izumi muttered.

"Well, you know how it goes," Iliana said opening the box.

"What's the measure?" Izumi asked as her maid closed the device around her.

"18 inches, but your mother said today you can get away with nineteen"

"Why does my mother insist on torturing me on special days?" Izumi asked herself as she braced herself for the ordeal.

"Because even though you will be the Fire Lord, your words will fall on deaf ears if the ministers and generals aren't paying attention."

"So you want me to engage them with what I am saying by a tiny waist?" Izumi asked skeptically.

"Exactly!" Iliana exclaimed.

Izumi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yoko," Izumi called.

Yes?" Miyoko the girl responded, sliding across the bed to where her mother stood gripping one of the posts.

"Could you remind me to add banning this stupid article of clothing from ever being manufactured again," Izumi asked her.

"Yep!" Miyoko said, hopping off and running over to her mother's dressing table to write it down on a scrap of parchment.

"Okay. You get a ten minute break," Iliana said tying off the knot.

"Okay. Yoko, lets get you dressed. You have to look presentable today."

"For who?" Miyoko asked, pulling off her nightgown over her head.

"For me," Izumi replied, holding up her daughter's dress robes.

"When did you start wearing those things?" Miyoko asked, pointing at Izumi's corset.

"When I was eight or nine, maybe," Izumi replied tying the fastening at her child's waist.

"Why don't I have to wear them?" Miyoko asked handing her mother a golden ribbon.

"Because I am your mother and I'm not as cruel as many think I should be," Izumi replied, tying it around the baby's torso. Izumi lifted a double layered collar over her girl's head and buttoned it at the back, then pulled out her daughter's hair. Izumi brushed out all the night tangles while her daughter sat in the chair.

"Traditionally we would tie all of it up, but you look so nice with it down," Izumi said, contemplating a style.

"You can compromise with yourself and tie half up and leave the rest down," Miyoko suggested with a shrug.

"You're right. It's not very traditional, but it IS the dawning of a new era today," Izumi said kissing her girl on the cheek and proceeding to tie up half of her hair into a bun. Miyoko analyzed her mother's handiwork then pulled two tendrils from the bun to let hang and frame her face.

"Like your Great Aunt Azula," Izumi laughed.

Miyoko shrugged.

"Princess," Iliana called to finish the lacing.

"I'll take it from here. Iliana, will you please check on the Princess Ursa? Marnie seems to be struggling," Mai said, entering the room.

"Ursa came back from the South Pole?" Izumi asked with a gasp.

"She had to obey the summons of the Fire Lord. Iroh is here too, as are your other children," Mai said undoing the knot Iliana made in her daughter's corsets.

Izumi sighed.

"What's wrong?" Mai asked knowingly.

"Nothing—" Izumi lied.

Mai pulled hard on Izumi's laces eliciting a groan from her daughter. "You may be able to mask the truth from everyone else in the world, but not me, Zumi. Spill it."

"What if they react badly to their siblings?" Izumi asked in a whisper.

"They'll get over it. You will be Fire Lord. Your decisions will all be final and they will have no place questioning you. Don't worry," Mai said. She pulled the last bit of the corset closed at the top nearly crushing her daughter's ribs.

"Mother, why do we do this?" Izumi asked.

"Do what?"

"Why do you make me wear a corset on my coronation? I'm fifty-three years old. Who are we trying to impress? I don't need a husband-"

"You are the first female Fire Lord in known history," Mai began to explain. "However much progress has been made in the last fifty seven years, you're still a woman and as I am sure Iliana has already explained, your words may still fall on deaf ears because the generals don't fear you as they did Azula at the end of the war. You will need all the help you can get to keep them engaged," Mai explained as she attached straps to the back of the corset, forcing Izumi's shoulders down and back.

Then came the pants, boots and Fire Lord robes. The trim was embroidered and much more detailed on the hems.

Then came the new armor. Three layers of padding hung down and three layers of spikes stood up. The flame on her chest gleamed bigger, and brighter in the light with five points instead of three and had a hole in the center to let out some energy.

"It feels like an anchor, weighing me down," Izumi commented, looking in the mirror as her mother gathered half of her black hair in a bun.

"To remind you that even though you sit above the common man with all the power in the world, you too are still mortal," Mai explained with the same emotionless face she wore every day since she was born.

Izumi nodded and turned around to face her ten-year-old girl.

"Well, how do I look?" Izumi asked her baby.

Miyoko gaped up at her mother. "Positively frightening with those shoulder spikes."

"I guess that's a good thing," Izumi thought aloud.

"I think you should probably go find your father now, Yoko," Mai suggested to her youngest grandchild.

"Yes, Grandmother!" Miyoko nodded with a bow before breaking off into a run.

"Any advice mother?" Izumi asked turning to the Fire Lady hopefully.

"Don't smile. Not at all today. You must showcase strength more than anything. Your Father is giving you this crown. You're not earning it through trial by combat nor good old-fashioned, ruthless family murder. You must show that you deserve it. Chin up, eyes down. You must be still as a vulture-viper ready to lash out," Mai said, laying Izumi's wavy hair behind her shoulders. "Never show a thing you feel inside, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," Izumi replied.

Mai kissed her on the cheek then nudged her hand forward. "Let's go find your aunt and father."

* * *

Miyoko practically slid into her father, not expecting her new shoes to have so little traction.

"Yoko! Didn't your mother tell you? You're not supposed to be running in your dress robes," Masaru said catching her.

"She may have failed to mention that," Miyoko replied, standing up and fixing her hair.

"Yoko, meet your brothers. They're all involved in various business ventures throughout the world which is why they don't come home often," Maaru said. "Boys! Meet Miyoko. She is your little sister. I trust you'll treat her kindly," Masaru said with both hands on his ten year old's shoulders.

Twenty-one year old twins, one with a low tail, and one without, along with four other men all turned to Miyoko. She took a step back, closer to her father.

"Miyoko, is it? I am Tetsuya," the twin without the long, free-flowing hair said, bowing to her.

"Tatsuya," the one with the long ponytail said.

"Sasuke," the one with a low, short ponytail and slicked back hair said with a nod.

"Rikuto," one with short, relatively messy hair said, waving with a big toothy grin that indicated he was DEFINITELY raised abroad.

"Taemon," an elegant man with a proper Fire Nation bun said with a polite nod.

"Takeo," the last, and presumably oldest man said. He too had a pony tail but it was high and medium in length that very much reminded Miyoko of Grandfather Zuko's hair when he was young.

"Let's get to our seats," Masaru said as he led them away, not letting go of Miyoko's hand as they exited the palace to the main plaza.

The Fire Sages took the stage first followed by Zuko and the rest of the royal family. Mai stoodto his left and back a ways. Izum, immediately to his right and on the edge of the stage like him. Irohstood to his mother's right but back a ways and wearing not a Fire Nation Army uniform or even Fire Nation robes but his United Forces Officer his right, his sister Ursa stood, fifteen years his younger with long dark hair half up in a delicate bun and a long gown with wide sleeves, her beautiful, smooth, young face marred by a scowl. She was angry about something as she watched her mother crouch down beside her grandfather A massive gong rang out, silencing the crowd of tens of thousands prompting everyone to bow. Then they all stood again while Zuko remained kneeling as Fire Sage Miu removed the crown from his head.

"Zuko, Fire Lord to our Nation for fifty seven years. You taught the Avatar firebending and helped end a century of conquest and bloodshed. You ushered in a new era of love, peace, and prosperity for the Fire Nation. You lead us through a depression and a second industrial revolution. You are father of Izumi…husband of Mai… grandfather to Iroh… grandfather to Gansu, now passed… grandfather to Ursa…"

"Father, she's beautiful!" Miyoko whispered to Masaru as she looked up at Princess Ursa.

"Shhhh!" Masaru hushed her.

"By royal decree of Fire Lord Zuko, we shall pass the crown onto his daughter, and only child," Fire Sage Miu said, walking over to Izumi.

"All hail Fire Lord Izumi!"

Izumi entered the throne room and took her father's place, lighting the trough with blazing blue flames that heated the entire room to temperatures the castle hadn't known since she blew it up twelve years ago.

The first step was to have each of the ministers and generals in her father's council swear fealty to her. Then came the Fire Sages.

"Before my great great grandfather Sozin started the war, the Fire Sages served the Avatar, correct?"

"That is correct, my lord," the head sage replied.

"Then you will return to serving the Avatar. Your services are no longer needed in the palace. Nor anywhere else except the humanitarian sector. Your funding shall be reduced to all that is needed to run the Capital Temple and no more. You shall all be required to aid the humanitarian sector in restoring historical sites as well as refurbishing the orphanages in the city. All of your activities will be closely monitored for quality assurance and honesty. Any questions?"

"No, my lord," Sage Miu said.

"Good. Now leave this palace immediately. Should you ever dare speak against me, you will be destroyed slowly and painfully." Izumi ordered the Fire Sages.

"My Lord," the Royal scribe interrupted as the Fire Sages filed out. "Are you sure you would like that last bit included in the official records of the court proceedings?" He asked.

Izumi turned to him, bending the fire to split so he could see the expression on her face.

"What do you think, Jiyu?" She asked, narrowing her golden tangerine colored eyes.

"No, Milord."

Izumi nodded. "Bring in Genkei Saitamaki and his accomplices!" Izumi ordered the guards.

"My Lord," the man named Genkei said, bowing to the new Fire Lord with seven people behind him also bowing, six men and one woman.

"Genkei, as discussed, you will be my personal servant and my daughter's official handler. As for the rest of you, stand by while I bring in your charges," Izumi turned to the imperial guard. "Bring in Masaru Lee and his children," Izumi ordered.

* * *

"Everyone up, the new Fire Lord has summoned us to come before her," Masaru said to his herd.

"Why can't we just call her Mother? She's not exactly an all powerful Fire Lord like Sozin and Ozai were," one of the twins, Tatsuya asked.

"While she is in her official capacity, you will address her as such. Only at home, you may still call her mother," Masaru clarified. "Now come on. It's rude to keep someone of her status waiting!"

The family knelt before Izumi, with Masaru in front and his seven children lined up behind him in birth order. Genkei's soldiers fell behind the children.

"Masaru Lee, as a reward for your massive contributions towards reducing the unemployment rate in the Fire Nation as well as the development of infrastructure and social services to the lower classes, you and your family shall be granted residence in the palace as well as my full protection. The guards you see behind you will be your personal handlers. They will see to it that no harm will come to you. In addition, they will ensure that you have not everything you want, but everything you need," Izumi informed them.

Miyoko looked at the woman behind her. She was very young-not much older than Princess Ursa by the looks of it. How did she become one of her mother's agents?.

"Genkei will show you to your quarters here. Dismissed," Izumi ordered.

They all rose silently and filed out followed by their new 'handlers.'

* * *

"Father, will we get to meet the Prince and Princess soon?" Miyoko asked Masaru at dinner in the Cherry Blossom Hall of the palace.

"Meet?" Rikuto asked with his mouth full from the other end of the table. Miyoko reeled at his ghastly lack of manners. "Keyo, Suke and I already know 'im. Grew up with 'im at the estate until 'e went off to boot camp for the United Forces!" Rikuto said tearing off another chunk of meat from the massive piece of pork perched on his fork.

"But I mean the rest of us? Mother promised us that when she became Fire Lord, she will legitimize us and we can come out of hiding! Or has she forgotten that promise too?" Miyoko sighed.

"She has not forgotten, Yoko. She just has a LOT on her list of things to do. She's already changed a lot in her first day as Fire Lord by effectively exiling the Fire Sages from the palace for the first time in history. That already has people starting to ask questions. Sometimes the most dangerous thing among the masses is creativity. Your Mother has to tread carefully and be discreet in the changes she wants to enact both for the nation and the royal family. You will all be legitimized-just not immediately," Masaru explained.

"Do you think she will come to us this evening or just stay with the 'royal family proper?'" Miyoko asked.

"She will come to us, just not immediately. You must be patient Miyoko," Masaru said, taking a delicate bite of food.

"And Yoko," Tetsuya said turning to the ten year old with a rather beautiful smile. "As you get older, you'll find that you need dear Mother less and less," he said, taking a sip of wine.

Miyoko considered his words before frowning. "But we'll still need her!" she clarified.

"To an extent," Tetsuya replied. Miyoko looked at the entrance to the Cherry Blossom hall and sighed as she took another bite of food.

* * *

After changing into her nightgown in her new room and letting down her hair, Miyoko examined the grills over the ventilation shaft under her dressing table. _I could still fit in. Maybe I could find mother and if not talk to her, watch her like I used to._ Miyoko yanked off the cover and slid into it easily, crawling. She knew where she was in the palace and began making her way towards the royal residence quarters where Mother slept.

She heard her mother's voice.

"Ursa, you KNOW that is not the case!"

"No, I don't! Has it ever occurred to you that I don't care for freedom anymore? Has it ever occurred to you that I just need more time by your side? I feel like I don't even know you! Grandfather calls us home to attend your coronation without warning and—,"

"Don't blame me for that! He only told me last night!" Izumi responded.

"So let me guess, you're just going to get even busier."

Izumi sighed. "If I had a choice, you KNOW I would go with you, at least once."

"You CAN! You have all the power in the world! You can make Kei Lo regent or spirits, EVEN GRANDFATHER and come away with me, just once! I don't understand how you can be so afraid all the time!"

"I'm not afraid! I know where I'm needed most and it's not in the desert standing by while you outdrink some some sandbenders!"

"How- you sent your spies after me?!"

"To protect you and make sure you kept up your alias to protect the royal family as a whole. Everything I've done has been FOR the family!"

"No, everything you've done has been FOR YOURSELF! Get out, Mother," Ursa growled.

"Ursa—"

"I said get out!"

Miyoko gasped as she watched.

"You should be in bed, little Miss," a voice whispered to Miyoko. She yelped and shot up, only to hit her head against the roof of the vent and began to cry.

The voice gasped. "Shhhhh!"

Miyoko found her head encased in water, healing water and the pain begin to subside. She looked up and saw the face of her handler.

"You're a— waterbender?" Miyoko asked.

"Yes. Your mother figured you could use the healing. As a high-energy child, you're more prone to getting yourself into— sticky situations that can result in injury," her handler said returning the water to the skin on her back. "Come on out, this way," she said backing out of the tunnel.

"How did you fit into the vents?" Miyoko asked climbing out and dusting herself off.

"This is my colleague, Tadashi. He's an earthbender and also in the Fire Lord's service. I asked him to open it up for me when I saw you'd left your room for the evening," her handler said motioning to a man who stood by them waiting patiently.

"Sunako, Tadashi, I'll take her from here, thank you," Izumi said as she strode towards them, looking absolutely livid.

Miyoko shrunk back a little.

"To bed you go," she said clamping a hand onto Miyoko's shoulder.

"Ow! Ma, you're hurting me!"

Izumi stopped then to simply pick her up so she couldn't fight or run.

"Until I can complete the process of legitimizing you, nobody can know I am your mother. As a rule of thumb, if I'm wearing the crown I am Fire Lord Izumi and nothing else."

"Like a puppet in a stage production," Miyoko said, leaning on her forearms on the Fire Lord's fancy ceremonial armor, frowning at the crown.

"Yoko," Izumi said in a condescending tone as they reached the child's much smaller bedroom in the government staff resident quarters.

Miyoko snatched the crown out of her mother's bun as she was set down.

"Mother!" Miyoko replied mimicking her tone, running to the other side of the room, the gold gleaming in her hand in the torch light.

"Yoko! You insolent—" Izumi ran around the bed, her ceremonial robes flowing around her legs. Miyoko dove under it and started out the door right into the belly of a man. She fell back on her bottom and looked up in fear. It was just her father. She and her mother both let out a sigh of relief.

Izumi leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground, covering her face with her sleeve.

"Zumi," Masaru said, passing Miyoko.

"Why is Mother crying now?" Miyoko asked, offering back the crown.

Izumi pushed it away. "Because I don't want that wretched thing," Izumi replied with one hand pressed against her diaphragm as her sobs came in shallow gasps and hiccups, restricted by the corset under her ceremonial robes.

"It's just another burden worse than being a princess. The power is all an illusion, Yoko. You're right. I'm just a puppet in a stage production. Everything I do or say has to be so carefully planned out to minimize retribution… and I'm already afraid that today I've already made too many mistakes," Izumi confessed. Masaru pulled her into his lap and pulled the golden ring off of her bun and undid the ribbon that was under it. He ran his fingers through her dark locks and just sat with her while she wept silently.

"Yoko, come with me, give them some time alone," a voice ordered.

Miyoko looked up and saw her great Aunt Azula. Instinctively, she backed away towards her parents.

"She won't cook you for supper. You can trust her, Yoko," Masaru said, noting the hesitation.

Miyoko placed her mother's crown by the golden ring and the crimson ribbon and joined Azula, who swept the girl up and onto her hip and walked away.

"What is it with you people carrying me? I'm ten years old and perfectly capable of walking on my own!"

"It's because you're the baby!" Azula explained. Miyoko furrowed her brows and eyed her Great Aunt suspiciously.

"So why did Grandfather give up the crown when Mother clearly doesn't want it?"

"Your mother will end up with it eventually. He wanted to do it now so that if she does have any major problems, which we all highly doubt, we're all still around to advise her," Azula explained.

"Why does she think she messed up today? She just got rid of the Fire Sages and made a couple changes in the council of generals and council of ministers, right?"

"She also partially replaced the imperial guard with members of her own personal secret army."

"Really?"

"Sh! You're not supposed to know that!"

"Then why are you telling me?"

"Because unlike your mother, I do what I want to and not what I need to," Azula replied.

"How is that a good thing?"

"It definitely makes things easier to get done,"

"In what way?"

"You don't have to wait for permission or opportunity. You just do it….I guess what I'm trying to say is, you don't need to be legitimized to live a full and happy life. It will happen but it will take a while. In the meantime, don't let fear stop you from doing what you want to."

"I'm not afraid. I want to help with maintaining the peace in the country, and lighten the load for my mother-I just don't want to cause any more problems for her either."

"Yoko, listen to your own words. You want to help, but don't want to cause problems. When I was seventeen years old, I came to terms that the throne would never be mine despite my father telling me my whole life that it would. I discovered that my destiny was to help shape my brother, Lord Zuko, into the best Fire Lord that he could be, by exposing just how similar he could be to his forefathers in times of turmoil so that he wouldn't make the same mistakes as they did. You need to find your own destiny, Yoko. I highly doubt it is continuing to hide in those walls, just because your mother tells you that it is something everyone needs you to do."

"So are you sanctioning rebellion?"

"I am not sanctioning anything, nor can I. I haven't had any authority in the Fire Nation since I was fourteen years old, Yoko. You on the other hand, have a lot more power than you think in spite of your status as an illegitimate child, BECAUSE your mother is the Fire Lord now and we all know that dear little Zumzu will let you get away with a LOT of things. Trust me," Azula said to the girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is IT for the Princess's Fire.
> 
> Izumi has had to struggle and fight and that has made her really strong. It took some time to learn how to control her herself and her inner power, and eventually her own life (and finally get rid of the Fire Sages once and for all).
> 
> The next part will take place EIGHT years later in 175AG, AFTER Legend of Korra and AFTER Lives Forgotten and Earth and Air.
> 
> Its working title was Rogue, and I am still debating posting it here with this story, or as a separate story, and official sequel (Since Izumi is no longer a Princess...)
> 
> It is planned to be 9 parts, 5 parts have already been written, and the 6th part is in progress.
> 
> It is basically about Izumi slowly... losing control.
> 
> What do you think? Did you like the story? Should the sequel be tacked on the back of here, or should it be posted separately and be called, The Fire Lord's Fire or True Mastery or just... Rogue?
> 
> And a HUGE thanks to MusicPlayer81 for being my beta and advisor and friend and for helping me when I got stuck!
> 
> Next part will be called the Summoning and will be posted probably on Sunday or Tuesday (even though it is already done) unless someone asks me to post it sooner. (just because a lot of people click that arrow next to the title of the story and may miss a chapter if I post them too close together)
> 
> Sorry for the long note! As always, all feedback is greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoyed this first "phase" of Izumi's life (as much as it can be enjoyed). :) Have a great weekend!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this story!!!
> 
> All feedback and criticism is greatly appreciated. If you have time, I would love to hear what you think!!!


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